A Dark Fate
by soldier of knowledge
Summary: Cynder wins in Convexity, and makes Spyro her prisoner.  What has she got planed for him?  SpyroxCynder with a twist, but it will take a few chapters to get there.
1. Chapter 1

This is my first fanfic, so feel free to put some constructive criticism in the reviews. This story is an alternate ending for A New Beginning. This story is a SpyroxCynder story, with a twist. I've tried to keep characters in, well, character, but there will be a little bit of OOC. It's the only way for this plot to happen. And on that note, let's get on with the story

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Spyro or Cynder, or any other "Legend of Spyro" characters.

**A Dark Fate**

**Spyros POV**

**Final battle in Convexity**

I was gasping for air, and Cynder wasn't any better. We stared across the platform at each other, looking for an opening. I had inflicted more damage on her than she had on me, but I couldn't take as much damage either. At this point either of us could still win. I glanced at the portal. It was opening wider, and seemed to be getting more solid. I had to finish this fight now.

"Sparx, I need you to go and tell the Guardians what happens, either way."

"Sorry, bro, but I'm not going anywhere until you win." I was touched by my foster brother's loyalty, but I knew he couldn't stay.

"Thanks for the support Sparx," I responded, "but I'm getting tired. I don't know how well I'll be able to control my attacks, and I could never forgive myself if I hurt you accidentally."

"But-"

"No 'buts', Sparx, I need you to do this for me." As I said this, I glanced at Cynder. There were a lot of cuts on her, and most of them were bleeding. Then again, I wasn't in any better shape. I didn't tell Sparx, in case I caused him to panic, but I was just as close to losing as she was. I looked back at my brother, and saw him sadly nod.

"Kick her butt, Spyro." On that note he turned and began flying for the exit. With Sparx out of the way I turned my attention back to Cynder. We had continued circling as I was talking with Sparx, and thus, the situation had not changed much.

"I will admit it, you're tougher than I gave you credit for. But that won't matter for long, whelp. Soon my Master will return, and you have no hope of beating both of us!" As she said this, Cynder began to charge up another attack.

"That's assuming I let you free him!" I called back; as I began to gather all of the energy I had left. I knew Cynder was right. If Malefore returned, all four of the Guardians and me couldn't beat both the Dark Master and Cynder. I had no chance of defeating them alone. As I prepared to unleash all this energy, I saw a shape come through the portal. I looked over just in time to see a purple dragon step through the portal, before a strange beam from the purple dragon hit me in the head, and I knew no more.

**Cynders POV**

I bowed low as my Master stepped through the portal and came back to the Dragon Realms for the first time in nearly one thousand years. He looked at me, then the purple whelping on the other side of the platform. Turning back to me, he spoke.

"Well done, General. I thank you for freeing me. But it appears you had some difficulty."

Without looking up I responded. "The only reason he was able to do any damage, was because I was weakened by opening the portal to Convexity."

My master nodded, and spoke again. "Get up, and tell me, what should we do with this?"

I stood up and came over to where he was looking down at Spyros form. "I see no reason why you ask me, Master, for I am your servant."

He glanced at me and nodded. "Well put. Nonetheless, you freed me, and came close to beating him. The choice is yours."

I looked down, and noticed for the first time that Spyro was still alive, but unconscious and even more wounded than earlier. "He is still breathing!" I exclaimed, surprised.

"Yes, normally he would be dead, but, through no fault of your own, when I was freed I was temporally weakened." As I looked up alarmed, he chuckled. It was a dark chuckle, and would have sent shivers down most dragons' spines. I was not one of those dragons. "I will recover, over a few weeks. It is just a part of the spell used to release me. In the mean time, what will you do with him?"

I thought about it. I could kill him quickly, but then the fun would be over in a moment. Or I could slowly torture him, but I had a feeling that I would be very busy in the coming weeks. Either way, I wouldn't want to kill him here.

Then I thought about keeping him alive. I could take him back to Concurrent Skies, and whenever I was bored, release, fight, and beat him. But I would have to find a way to keep him from using the time he was free to escape. I could keep him in the dungeons, but no, that wouldn't be nearly as fun. After discarding a few other ideas, I found one I liked immensely. It would also give me a chance to try out a new toy I had recently acquired.

I smiled, a cruel smile, as I walked over and broke some red and green crystals. My injuries healed, and my strength returned, while I finalized my plan. My Master had been stretching and practicing his skills while I thought. Being trapped for one thousand years can make you rather stiff, I imagined. I grabbed the unconscious Spyro, and turned to Malefore.

"With your permission Master, I think it is best that we returned. My lair is at your disposal as long as you need it."

"And what shall you do with the whelping?" he asked as we lifted off.

I smiled again, and finally revealed my intention. "Unless you object, Master, I thought I could use a pet."

_I wonder if anyone saw that coming. A little short I know, it will get longer soon. I really hope I didn't disturb anyone with Cynders ideas, but I needed to emphasis, she is still very much evil. It was enough of a stretch, I think, for her to spare Spyro. I'll try to get the next chapter up soon. Until then, have a nice day._


	2. Chapter 2

_A big thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. You really made my day. Sorry if my descriptions of Concurrent Skies are off. Although I have completed both of the other games, I have not actually played A New Beginning. So my most sincere apologies if I'm wrong._

_Storywise, I will get a chapter up every two or three days, if not sooner. My summer vacation lasts until September 1__st__, so I'll try to finish the story by then. This story will be told entirely from Spyro and Cynder's perspective. Now, without further ado, let's get on with the story._

_Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Legend of Spyro series, or any character from said series. That doesn't mean I would object to owning it, though._

**A Dark Fate**

**Spyros POV**

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was pain. That in itself was not surprising. I could remember the entire battle, up to where that purple beam hit me in the head. No, what was surprising was the fact that I could feel anything. I didn't think pain existed in the afterlife. That meant I was alive. Reinforcing that fact was the feeling of something cold around my neck, something that felt like metal.

Although I dreaded it, I finally opened my eyes, allowing me to see black metal and gray stone surrounding me. Or, more accurately, a stone jail cell with a metal door, complete with a barred window.

"Alright, I'm alive, so where am I?" Even as I asked the question, I looked to my side to see the metal thing around my neck was a collar. Metal chains, glowing slightly with a dark purple glow, ran off both sides of it, leading to opposite sides of the cell. They very effectively limited my movement to standing up, laying down, and about one step in any direction. Not that this was a large cell to begin with.

"If I'm alive, that means Cynder captured me. If she captured me, that means I am back in her lair at Concurrent Skies. If I'm at Concurrent Skies, that means Cynder has succeeded, and freed the dark master. Oh man, can this get any worse?" Guess what, it did.

"Hello there, Whelp. Having fun?" Cynder was staring smugly though the window. On instinct I tried to spit a fireball at her, but was cut short when pain shot though me, and it wasn't because I was almost out of energy.

Cynder burst out laughing at my pain. This made me angry, but not angry enough to try again. That shock hurt like little else before.

"Welcome to my, and now your, home. What do you think of it?" I growled, but didn't say anything. Instead, testing the chains, I found that I wasn't going anywhere. And see as how that shock came from the collar I was wearing, she had me very effectively captured.

"At least you're smart enough to not keep hurting yourself. That bodes well for you." As said this, she was looking over my cuts and bruises from the fight. "Submit to me, and not only will I free you from the cell, I will heal you as well."

"Not a chance!" I shouted back, speaking to her for the first time. "First off, I will never submit to darkness, and besides, I know you've got something unpleasant planned." That was obvious to me the minute I woke up and found myself a prisoner. If she didn't have a plan for me, I would already be dead.

She smiled evilly, something that sent shivers down my spine. "Determined, intelligent, and strong. Yes, you will do just fine. And," she added as an afterthought" you are quite cute."

"What do you mean, cu-" I stated to say indignantly, but was stopped when another wave of pain came from my collar. This was worse than the other shock, and went on longer as well. I could even see the dark purple, almost black, energy crackle along the chains.

As I gasped from the pain, she began to leave, but not before saying "I will see you again tomorrow. Perhaps you will have changed your mind by then." As she left she nodded to another creature I could not see, and told it "No food, no water, and no sleep. Keep the shocks regular and strong. DON"T let him escape."

This was not going to be fun.

**Cynders POV**

I was in one of my rare genuine happy moods as I left the jail cells. Walking to my old, and my masters new, throne room, I thought about my plans for that purple whelping. Of course he didn't know it, but if he had accepted my first offer, he would have been hurt much more. I could invoke my plans at any time, but they would be safer if he was already weak. But I didn't want him broken. Not yet, at least.

I glanced out a window, and suddenly remembered why this was my lair. Foremost, it was near invincible to a large attack. Though a small force bent on infiltration was a threat I had to remove, as demonstrated by my captive. When it wasn't storming, which it usually was, the view was actually very good from here.

And the best thing I liked about Concurrent Skies, was that Gaul found it difficult to get up here, and thus rarely came. I hated that ape, hated him with a vengeance. Not only were we competing to be the Dark Masters most trusted servant, even when I was younger and had done nothing wrong, he beat when he was angry, and sometimes when he was just bored. And until recently he was my superior, a brutal superior, on that note. But now, I had been promoted, and was equal, if not high ranked than him.

Arriving at the throne room, I bowed to my master, before taking his place to his right and behind him. Half a minute later the final member of our little meeting arrived.

"Out of my spot, dragon." Gaul growled at me. I merely smiled, and stayed silent, but didn't move.

"Actually, Gaul, Cynder has proven herself to me, and has become my top General. She takes orders from me personally" That left Gaul speechless and myself smiling. "She freed me, and struck a strong blow to our enemies in the process."

"So what do we do about the purple whelping?" Gaul burst out. In my head I sighed, glad I was no longer under his command. Although terribly strong, and an adept leader in combat, Gaul was terrible at strategy. There was a reason that the dragons had been winning until I had entered combat.

"Have no fear, Spyro is no longer a threat." I said. I did not tell Gaul that Spyro was my prisoner. I would not have been surprised if he tried to kill the young dragon, just to spite me. Gaul glared at me, before turning his attention back to our master.

"I have objectives for the both of you." The Dark Master said, bringing our attention to the goal of this meeting, consolidating our control of the nearby areas. "Gaul, take your forces, and recapture the Tall Plains, Dante's Freezer, and Munitions Forge. At the same time, I need you to secure the mountain of Malefore. Make sure we have a corridor to get from here to there."

"It will be as you commanded, Master." There was something in Gaul's eyes that I could not place, but it didn't worry me much. Malefore turned to me and began to give me orders.

"Cynder, you and I shall go and capture the four Guardians."

"As you wish", I replied, but was curious. "Would it not be easier to kill them, Master?"

"Yes, if I was sure that is what I wanted to do. I have a few other things in mind, however, and we can't let them run free, attempting to counter our moves. We leave in two hours. Gaul," he said turning back to the ape, "go now, and do not fail me." With that, our Master got up, and began to leave, the meeting over.

**Spyros POV**

I was right, it wasn't fun. As Cynder had ordered, I had gotten no sleep, nothing to drink, nothing to eat, and regular shocks, on the level of the first one. About midmorning, an Ape came in right after a shock, while I was still weak, and muzzled me. Thus, I was unable to speak when, half an hour later, I heard other prisoners arriving. They went past my cell, though I could not see them, and they could not see me. That evening, Cynder herself arrived, smiling, which worried me, and removed my muzzle. Weakened as I was, I could not stand, and had to suffice for glaring at her.

"Are you willing to give in now, whelp?" In response, I growled

"Not a Chance!" and spat at her. She simply smiled, and shocked me again. But this shock was unbearably, and I nearly lost conciseness.

"Unfortunately, you don't have a choice." She said, smugly, and removed my collar. This was no risk to her, as I couldn't even speak. I was in no shape to attempt to escape, or even stand up. She placed a far more elaborate silver collar in front of me, along with a matching bracelet, studded with several gems. There were similar, albeit smaller, gems in the collar. Dark blue gems were studded around the circumference, with a large dark purple gem at the front and two large gems at the back. One was dark green, the other was dark red. Enlarged versions of the red and green gems were among those on the front of the bracelet. A swift glance confirmed that they were not the gems that would restore health and stamina. Finally, on the front and back on the front and back of the collar a single word had been elegantly engraved, and highlighted in midnight black. _**Cynder**__._

"What do you think of my, or should I say, your, new collar?" She inquired. "Oh, wait, I haven't told you my plans now have I? Allow me to remedy the situation." As if I could do anything about it. "I've already told you. You're strong, tough, intelligent, and rather cute. Perfect for your new role, my _pet."_

Pet? _That's_ what she wanted me for? As I lay there, stunned, she slipped the new collar over my neck. Although it was originally large enough to fit over my head with ease, as soon as it reached the base of my neck, it clamped tight. I could breathe, but I had no chance of moving it, let alone getting it off. She slipped the bracelet on her own foreleg immediately thereafter, and a glowing black chain connected the collar to the bracelet to the collar for a moment, before disappearing. I tried to form words, but nothing came out of my mouth. I was not surprised. I was still exhausted after all. Then Cynder did something else I wasn't expecting. She pushed a small pile of red and green gems towards me. Not enough to get me back to full strength, but enough to stand up and speak.

I broke them quickly, and let the energy return to my body. I tried to speak again, but no words came out. However, I did hear my growl of frustration, which confused me. Cynder, however, chuckled.

"Ah, yes," she said. "A master cannot have their pet speaking out at inconvenient times, now can they? Earn it; and you will be able to speak again. But not before I deem you ready. You will also be incapable of using your elements, or physically attacking me at any time. If I so wish, however, I can return your elements to you, just like the power of speech. You see, I have total control over you, and don't you forget it. Now, come along, I have much to show you, my pet."

With that, she stood up and began to walk out the door of the cell. The black chain reappeared, threatening to drag me with along after her until I quickly came to my feet and stumbled after her. Following my new "master" I grimaced. I was not looking forward to this.

_A/N: Poor Spyro is speechless, and in more ways than one. You have to feel sorry for him after this. I included Cyders dislike of Gaul for several reasons. One, I don't like him either; second, it sets up a little bit of plot later on (same with the guardians, but that will have to wait a little bit longer). And third, I gather from the third game that Malefore doesn't like him all that much either (remember those shades?)._

_You may notice that Spyro refers to Malefore as "Malefore" and the "dark master", uncapitlized. Cynder, on the other hand, refers to him as "Master" and the "Dark Master", capitalized. I did that intentionally, since Cynder sees truly him as, well, her master, while Spyro merely sees him as a regular dragon. Given, a very strong and evil dragon, but a normal dragon none the less. This is just a part of their personalities._

_Remember the twist I mentioned in the summary? Feel free to guess at what it is. I won't let you know which, if any, the right answer is until I get there in the story, but once I do I will list the people with the correct answer._

_Until the next chapter, have a nice day._


	3. Chapter 3

_Again, thank you to everyone who reviewed! Sorry about any spelling errors, I hope it doesn't hurt the story too much. Sorry about the late update. A minor case of writers block and an unexpected two day family trip to Walla Walla, Washington is to blame. I ended up switching the order of the characters; it was the only way I could get the story to flow. The first part of this chapter has given me a lot of trouble, so sorry, if it's lacking a little. About the first time we use Cynders POV this chapter, remember, she has one of the most powerful dragons in the realm under her total control, and she is still evil. In my opinion she would want to play around with that control a little. With that said, let's get on with the story._

_Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Legend of Spyro series, or any characters or place from said series._

**A Dark Fate**

**Cynders POV**

Spyro was holding back enough for the chain of energy to appear, but not enough that I was dragging him. As if he could escape now. I alone could release the collar, and I had no intention of doing so. As I contemplated my control over him, he stumbled. Curious I turned, and saw him lying on the ground. There was no one around to trip him, and the hallway was smooth, so I wasn't sure how he fell over when I saw my tail. I began to laugh as it struck me.

"When I said you couldn't hurt me, I meant it. Accidentally or purposefully, you will be completely incapable of causing me pain. I take it you have no questions?"

I will admit, accidentally stepping on my tail wasn't really worth the grilling I gave him, but it was fun.

"Come now, I have places I need to be, and I need to get you to your new home before I can go anywhere." He just sat down and turned away. I could have dragged him, but I had wanted to try out another function of the collar. I tapped the dark red gem on the bracelet lightly, and watched as he fell over in pain. "I do have ways of making sure you comply with my orders. It's your choice whether I use them or not." I snarled at him, hiding my amusement. He got up quickly, if with difficulty, and eyed the bracelet with nervousness.

We continued on the way to my chambers, though as of yet Spyro had no idea of the destination. I was rather proud of my foresight when it came to my chambers. I had them constructed when this fortress was built. The genius in it is that I included a larger set of chambers for my master, meaning I got to keep mine. They were constantly updated to my personal wants, including a few new items for my pet.

Then, the one thing that could foul up my good mood appeared. Gaul. He and a few off his lackeys were walking down a perpendicular hallway. I used one of my back paws to halt Spyros progress. If the apes coming down the hall way saw him, they would kill him.

"Hey, Dragon!" Gaul called out to me. Despite my new seniority, he refused to call me by my name. Another of the many things I had against him.

"What?" I asked, not in the mood to get in an argument.

"I heard that the purple dragon fled, the coward. I can't wait until I bring his head to Malefore. He will reward me greatly, and boot back down to your proper place as my lackey!"

"Interesting, now don't you have a mission?" He growled an affirmative, so I added: "Good, now get out of my fortress." They left, grumbling the whole time, but luckily they didn't see Spyro. Once Gaul was out of earshot I burst out laughing. There he went; planning to bring Spyros head to the Dark Master, not knowing that he had walked right by the dragon in question. I glanced back at said dragon, and saw he had a smile on his face. A smile that quickly disappeared as I moved a claw towards my bracelet. But rather than taping the red gem, I tapped the dark green gem instead. He shivered and a goofy expression came over his face as pure pleasure overcame his body for a second. After all, one needs a way to reward their pet's good behavior.

Wordlessly I continued on my way to my chambers, Spyro following momentarily. We reached them without any further incidents, and as I placed my paw on the door I looked at Spyro. He was watching the door with a mix of curiosity and dread. Understandable, given my treatment of him thus far. His expression changed to wonder as I opened the door and he saw his new home. A large bed dominated the chamber, with two other doors in the room. One led to the balcony, and the other to my armory. Rugs covered the floor and tapestries hid the walls. Trophies from my battles were scatted around the room, with the newest being the guardians helmets. The newest addition to the room was a pillar with a large pillow next to it.

Spyro walked into the room in a daze, gazing around, until he froze at the sight of the helmets. I followed his gaze, and smiled when I saw what he was looking at.

"Oh, don't worry about them." I informed him matter-of-factly. He turned his incredulous stare to me. "They are all alive. For now, at least." His reaction to that piece of news was priceless. I wondered what he would he would have said if he could speak. I moved toward the pillar, dragging him with me. With a flick and a button press the chain flew from my bracelet to the pillar, thus trapping Spyro in the room. He noticed that he was no longer chained to me, and, driven by grief, and likely anger, he jumped at the door. The chain snapped into existence halfway through the jump, and he fell heavily to the ground.

"Tsk tsk. When I say something, you obey it. You are my pet, and I will decide where you go. Understand?" As I spoke the last word, I touched the red gem again. But this time I held my claw on it for a moment. This caused the pain to linger considerably longer. He collapsed to the ground in pain, and weakly nodded. "Good. Now don't do anything stupid, or else," I held up my wrist. He nodded again, and crawled to the pillow. As I walked back out the door, I glanced back. His expression was filled with hate, and resignation. I was not surprised.

**Spyro's POV**

This was the fourth day since Cynder placed the collar on me and revealed her plans. Since then she had taken me on a tour of Concurrent Skies and brought me to a briefing, in which my presence was revealed to Gaul. His face was priceless. One of the few things Cynder and I agreed upon was a mutual dislike of that Ape. Cynder. As much as I wanted to hate her, I found I couldn't. I learned of her past, how she was tortured by the apes, and how they still treat her with disdain. I actully felt kind of sorry for her. I also found that I was not kept just because she wanted to torture me. She poured out her anger and her sorrow to me, knowing I could, and would, never reveal it.

She had a genuine affection for me. Given, it was the affection one has for a pet, but still, the pillow was comfortable, the food was good, and she wasn't as cruel as one would think, provided she wasn't angry. Although I was sorry for her, I didn't have any affection for her. I was thankful to her though. Whether she knew it or not, I had gotten the best possible deal considering my situation. As I pointed out before, I was fed, wasn't tortured, and had a comfortable bed. If I did something that Cynder agreed with, she "rewarded" me. I wasn't sure what it was, but when she did it, it was as if pure happiness ran though my veins. I was finding that I wanted it more and more. I had avoided stooping below some self imposed limits, but it was getting more difficult every time.

There were constant reminders that, in her view, I was nothing more than a pet, however. The collar was the most obvious, with the fact I couldn't speak also high on the list. Cynder often referred to me as "Pet", or some form thereof. She spoke of me as being cute, to my displeasure, and often spoke as if I wasn't there. One of the most surprising however, came just yesterday. I had been napping when she came in. She was big enough that, if she wanted, she could pick me up with one paw. I was awoken when she picked me up and deposited me in between her front legs. At first I was scared, but then I noticed she had a thoughtful look on her face, and was mumbling something. Her paw came down on top of me, and then, to my surprise started tickling my side. Immediately thereafter she began to stroke my back. It seemed to calm her down, and seeing as how I learned not to disagree with her, I didn't move. She continued like that for about half an hour, before abruptly stopping. She got up, tapped the green crystal and left. I'm still not sure what she was thinking about.

That had happened again today. In my mind I dislike getting stroked like that, but unconsciously I enjoyed it, judging by the fact I was relaxing, and almost purring against my will. When she did it today she was not thinking about much, but just relaxed and smiled at me, the first really warm smile I have ever seen from her. Her mission was to eliminate the cheetahs of Avalar as a threat.

She had left around six hours ago, and was due back in about half an hour. There were already troops around the valley, and, courtesy of her wind element, Cynder was a very fast flyer. I knew this because she had told me before she had left, and had no reason to lie to me. I was thus surprised when the door opened as I was thinking, and was even more surprised when the hand of an ape appeared on the door. That surprise disappeared when I saw what he was holding.

A poisoned knife.

**Cynders POV**

I contemplated my latest mission with pride. I had been ordered by my Master to remove the Cheetahs of Avalar as a threat. I had taken about four hundred apes from one of our our nearby camps to complete the mission. The cheetahs had fought admirably under their chief, Prowlus. The one hundred or so warriors at their village had taken three hundred of my apes with them, and I had to kill Prowlus myself. What confused me momentarily was the fact that Hunter was nowhere to be found. He was one of the best warriors the cheetahs had, but he, all of the young cheetahs, several elite warriors, and a few elders were nowhere in the village.

I found them half a day's hike, for cheetahs, to the north. Despite the fact only fifty of them could wield weapons; it still took nearly two hundred apes from the nearby camp to subdue them. I saw subdue, because I wanted to capture them alive. Spyro had reduced my forces to a small percentage of what they once were, and despite my reinforcements, I knew I needed better troops. The Dark Master had supported my plan to take the cheetahs, corrupt them with dark energy from the Well of Souls, and turn them into my personal guard. Not that I really needed one of course. The prisoners were on the way to the mountain of Malefore and would arrive in a few days.

In the meantime, an idea involving the dark energy and Spyro was floating around in my mind. It vanished when I reached my chambers, and saw the partly open door. I always close it, and I know Spyro couldn't have opened it, so who had? That question was answered when I saw blood, a knife, and two bodies on Spyro's cushion.

_MUWHAHA! Double cliffhanger! In case you were wondering, the second time we go to Cynders POV was a little bit of time after Spyros, so I'll be jumping back a little in the next chapter. Sorry if I rambled on in this chapter. If you want I can go and clean it up a little. But some of this information will be important later. The completion to identify the twist is still going. I've had a few good guesses, but surly you guys have more ideas. And yes, considering the alternatives, Spyro probably is pretty lucky at the moment. That doesn't mean he likes being Cynders pet, though. Review and tell me how I'm doing, I wasn't constructive criticism. And until the next chapter,_

_Have a nice day._


	4. Chapter 4

_ Thanks you for the reviews again everybody! They really make my day. Your guesses are all good as well. Unfortunately, I won't reveal the answer for at least one more chapter. Yes, I do have evil moments. I wanted to get this chapter up yesterday, as well as a few improvements to chapter three I noticed. Sadly, for various reasons I could not get on a computer, and I had to wait to do both today. I have had one review wondering whether this story will go into M rated territory. A most excellent question. The answer is no, but it will defiantly earn the teen rating. And now, without further ado, let's get on with the story._

_Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Legend of Spyro series, or anything or anyone coming from above series. I don't know if it would be a good thing if I did._

**A Dark Fate**

**Spyros POV**

The ape apparently did not expect to see me awake. He froze for a moment, and then smiled.

"Well, this is unexpected," He said with a snarl, "but it makes it more fun for me."

If I wasn't already on my guard, this sent straight me into combat mode. I couldn't use my elemental ablates, but my melee skills were unaffected, so I could still fight. And since Cynder was the only one the collar prevented me from attacking, I could kill him without any problems. As the ape's knife was poisoned, I doubted I could touch it and live, but then again he didn't look like he was used to straight combat.

As we were prepared to fight, I noticed a piece of paper, and coked my head. Since I couldn't speak, I was becoming very good at getting my meaning across with body movements and facial expressions. The ape noticed where I was looking, and explained with a chuckle.

"This message says your death was ordered by the Guardians, to prevent us from using you." I was confused by this, since Cynder told me the Guardians were under her surveillance, and could do nothing she didn't know about, and besides, I knew they would never use an ape. My confusion was cleared up a second later though. "After all, Gaul would rather not be on the receiving end of Cynder's anger when she learns of your death." Gaul was the culprit then. Somehow I wasn't surprised.

The ape had used my momentary pause to jump at me. I dodged, and got his leg with my claws. It would slow him down in the long run, but since it only took one good hit from either of us to end the fight it didn't really matter much. He charged again, but since he expected me to duck, I couldn't hit him. This continued on for a while, neither of use scoring a hit, as we moved farther from the pillar. I didn't notice until too late that we had reached the edge of my movement range.

He charged at me yet again, and I tried to jump out of the way. But halfway through the dodge the chain snapped taut, and I fell heavily to the floor. The ape let out a victory cry and slashed my side. Fire exploded from where the knife had cut me, and began spreading to the rest of my body. The ape stood triumphantly over me, a smug grin on his face.

But he made one mistake. When Cynder shocked me as punishment, she made me build up a resistance to pain. However, the ape standing over me didn't know that. Thus he was rather surprised when I jumped at him, landing on the pillow on top of him. The breath was driven from his lungs by the impact, and the knife from his grasp. I wasted no time, immediately sinking my teeth into his neck. He jerked around for a second, then lay still, never to move again.

I spit the blood from my mouth, and staged off of his body. I hated the taste of ape blood, though it did bring back memories. My mind flashed to the temple, Dante's Freezer, Tall Plains, and various other locations. As I collapsed, I heard claws clicking against stone. My last thought before blacking out was _now who is trying to kill me._

I blinked open my eyes to see black. Nothing but pure black. I wondered if I was dead. That question was answered when I got a better look at the sheet of black in front of me. I recognized the color as well as the fact it had scales. I was looking at Cynder. As I tried to get up a claw pushed my head back down, surprisingly gently.

"Now, now. I think it would be a bad idea for you to move at the moment." As my vision cleared up, I got a better look at my surroundings. I could still feel the collar, but the chain had disappeared. I was lying on Cynder's bed, and she was lying down in front of me. I turned my head slightly, and saw the gash on my side. What surprised me most was that it was still there. Cynder had been watching me and drew my attention back to her when she spoke.

"Poison is one of the many abilities I wield. I was able to remove the poison from your body before you were killed. However, that type of poison prevents the wound from being healed by red crystals. So you aren't going anywhere anytime soon."

Then I noticed that the message the ape had was in Cynder's paw. She looked down at it and smiled. "I read the message and I know it's faked. The Guardians don't even know you're here. I should know. They are currently my prisoners."

Had it been any other time I would have been greatly shocked, but right now, the pain from my wound and my exhaustion prevented me from doing much more than opening my eyes in shock and letting my head fall back to where it had been resting.

"Now, I need to know, who ordered your death? Was it Gaul?" I nodded my head weakly. "I'm not surprised." She snarled "He is going to pay for this." She picked me up gently and softly placed me back down on a new pillow. Whereas the last one had been blue, this one was dark purple, almost black, fitting in with the rest of the décor in the room. It was also slightly larger and softer than the last one.

Cynder prepared to leave the room, but before she did she called out "Captain, come here!" A large ape appeared, wearing armor I had never seen before. She continued to give him instructions. "Nobody is to come in here but me and me personally. If someone says they are coming on my orders, they are lying, so deal with them accordingly, got that?"

The ape bowed, and spoke. "It is as you command, my Lady" and on that note, he left quickly. Cynder turned to me and spoke. There was a great amount of anger in her voice, but it was not directed at me.

"When you have healed, we will be having a little discussion with Gaul." After speaking she left the room as well. I couldn't help but thinking that Gaul had made a very large and painful mistake.

**Cynder's POV**

It had been three days since Gaul's ill fated assassination attempt on Spyro. Since then he had never been out of either my sight or the sight of my elite guards. They were among the best soldiers that apes ever produced, and most were loyal only to me. I had saved their lives in battle, when Gaul had abandoned them. As such they hated him only slightly less than me. There were exceptions however. Namely, an old lieutenant. He had been bribed to let the would-be assassin into my chamber. Said lieutenant was now an indistinct mark on the valley floor near Concurrent Skies.

I glanced at Spyro, padding quietly along at my side. Dragons were naturally quick healers, and with nothing to do but eat, sleep and heal; Spyro had healed even faster than normal. The mark from the blade was now just that, a mark. It no longer caused Spyro pain, nor did it impede his movements. We were going to the Dark Master, to "discuss" what happened. It had not been stated that Gaul would be there, but I would've been surprised if he wasn't. For once, both of us were smiling. Courtesy of the latest assassination attempt, both of us hated Gaul with a passion. These smiles were wiped from our faces as we approached the throne room, to be replaced by a frown on Spyros part. He respected me because I had saved his life, and had control of his collar, but he had none for anyone else here. And even then it was a grudging respect.

We both bowed to my master, reluctantly on my pet's part, and I took my place at his side, Spyro beside me. The first time we had come here, he had refused to bow, and was punished for it. When given the choice between a second shock, and bowing to the Dark Master, he bowed. It wasn't because he was weak though. He resisted because he was tough and stubborn, and submitted because he was intelligent. He always did just enough to avoided getting shocked, and refused to do things that would get him a reward on more than one occasion. He offered a token resistance to show his opinion, but realized that a total resistance would get him nowhere. There was a reason I respected his intelligence.

Gaul entered a minute later. He was followed a considerably larger than usual contingent of apes. I also noticed more apes than normal around and in the throne room. I was on alert as I realized it, and so was Spyro. Although his posture was relaxed, I could tell he was ready for battle if need be. I couldn't tell with my Master. He was always relaxed. I mentally nodded, and checked to make sure the button that returned Spyros' elemental powers was where I thought it was. I had a feeling that this would not end well.

I started the conversation, and bluntly at that. "Gaul, just why did you try to assassinate my pet?" He feigned ignorance.

"What do you mean, 'assassinate my pet'? I did nothing of the sort. Though I wouldn't be surprised if the Guardians did, just to spite you." He spoke the last part almost as a taunt. Not surprising in the least.

"Very funny, Gaul. The Guardians are my prisoners, so they couldn't have sent the message, and they wouldn't use an ape to kill Spyro. That's even assuming they WOULD kill him."

The Dark Master watched the conversation with an air of interested amusement. However, he frowned when he heard Gaul's next comment. "Why should I even care if your pet gets killed? There are more than enough of you dragons to go around. In fact, if it wasn't for you, we apes would be the dominant species in the realms. I know you hate me, so you're just using this as an excuse to rant at me. You don't have any proof."

"Actually, Gaul, I do. You see, your assassin bragged too much." As I said that, I shifted slightly, and Spyro stood up and walked forward a few steps, taking him out of my shadow. The mark from the assassin's knife was very clear. It should be noted, that although Spyro dislikes me and will only do what I actually tell him to do most of the time, he hates Gaul just as much as I do. Thus, getting Gaul into trouble is one of the few things that he will actually willingly me help with.

In the face of proof that his plan failed, Gaul's face feel. But then, unexpectedly, it turned into a snarl. "That makes no difference now." He growled to me, before turning to our Master for the first time. "You gave us power to serve you." Gaul yelled. Then he smiled. "But you remain in control, and we apes don't like that. We want more power, and no more dragons to get in our way. WARRIORS, ATTACK!"

With that being said, more apes than even I had expected came from everywhere and started charging at the four of us. I taped a button on my bracelet, and returned Spyro's power to him. He noticed, and took advantage of that immediately, touching a charging ape. I turned to Gaul, but he and his guards were already engaged with Malefore. I moved to intercept Gaul's reinforcements, and got a pleasant surprise. Several of the apes were attacking each other. Apparently not all of the apes were loyal to Gaul. This gave us two advantages. The other was that that Gaul did not apparently expect for Spyro and me to be around when he made his move. I began to attack the apes streaming in to assist Gaul, and heard several that I missed changing targets to Spyro instead. A glance back confirmed that he was having no difficulty in defeating them. I began to lose track of time as I fought. The apes had the numbers, but Spyro and I had both fought far more skilled opponents, and had no trouble dealing with them individually. But sheer numbers meant they did get some hits in. The only question was what would run out first, our stamina, or their numbers.

The answer was their numbers. It might have been five minutes, it might have been half an hour, but eventually they stopped coming. I vanquished my last opponent and turned, to see a badly wounded Gaul ask one word, "How?", before he toppled over backwards, dead. I removed Spyro's elemental abilities, just in case. I shouldn't have worried, he was out of stamina, and wounded, but it I felt it was better to be safe rather than sorry. Most of the loyal apes were dead, but a some had backed into a corner, and had managed to hold out there. Clambering over the bodies of friend and foe alike, they knelt in front of my Master. The leader spoke

"When we heard of this plan, we knew it was doomed to failure, and decided to support you, Master. We ask that we are allowed to continue to serve you, regardless of the fate our brothers have chosen."

The Dark Master looked them over, before nodding. "I thank you for your loyalty, now, go and find better equipment for those who need it. Then return to me."

As the apes went about their grisly business, I looked at myself, my Master, and my pet. All of us were wounded, I the least. This was due to my size compared to Spyro, and the fact my Master singlehandedly took down many of Gaul's best warriors, himself included.

The remaining apes returned, and knelt again. The Dark Master raised his paw, and it began to glow purple. For a moment, I thought he had changed his mind, then I noticed a mark was being burned into their new chest armor. He spoke to them all, "You now bare the mark that all apes who are loyal to me shall soon bare. Go, and find any of your brethren who have remained loyal, and send them here. After that, go make sure the prisoners and slaves are still here and alive."

They responded at the same time, saying things along the lines of "As you wish" and "Yes Master". As they left, my Master turned to me.

Before he could ask me to do anything, I told him "The apes guarding the Guardians are all part of my elite guard. And with your permission, I would like to return to my chambers, and clear out any resistance in that area."

He nodded, and said "Just what I would have had you do. Now go, and while you're at it, find someone to clean up this mess."

Spyro followed me up to my chambers. We found some slaves cornered by some traitorous apes, saved them, and sent them down to the throne room. By the time we reached where my elite guard had successfully held out, Spyro looked as tired as I felt. I told the captain to hold that position, before I entered my chambers, and almost collapsed on my bed, before the idea to wash the blood of battle off of me and heal up occurred to me. And seeing as how tired we were, a few red gems and a rinse in the rain sufficed for both needs. As I lay in my bed, I looked over at Spyro, already asleep. As I watched him, I remembered how he fought in the battle, and others. I had previously remarked it was a pity he was on the other side. Now, I had the inklings of an idea which could change that.

_A/N: There's another hint to the twist in this chapter, see if you can find it. Yes, I admit it, I hate Gaul. It was fun killing him. It appears Cynder cares more for Spyro than we initially thought. It also appears to be a bad idea to betray Cynder. If you are a little confused about what happened to the ape who was bribed, let me give you a hint. I call it "a fall from grace". I have just gone over chapters one, two, and three, and eliminated some typos, so they should flow a little better. This story is almost half way done! I can't wait to see what you all think of the twist._

_And until then, have a nice day._


	5. Chapter 5

_Uhg. Sorry it took me so long to update. I lost inspiration, and had a little self doubt thrown into the mix as well. There is good news, though. Remember the twist? I'm going to reveal it next chapter. In the meantime, I have seen some very good guesses. I just remembered, I am having a little bit of trouble trying to figure out how the dragons measure things. They have three toes on each foot, so it's probably not the Metric or Imperial systems. Thus, please forgive me if I am a little bit inexact. There is a small part of the following chapter where I urge you to not jump to conclusions. You'll know when. Thanks for reviewing everybody, and without further delay, let's get on with the story._

_Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Legend of Spyro series, or anything or one from it. If I did, a good dozen of the stories I've seen on this site would be established canon._

**A Dark Fate**

**Spyros POV**

There was one thing I had better now than before. Cynder liked to sleep late, and nobody dared to come in here to wake her up. That meant that, for once in my life, I could actually sleep in. I woke up at about midmorning, and was about to stretch when I remembered yesterday's fight. The red gems I had gotten that evening had cleared up the cuts and bad bruises, but the aches and pains were still there. And they hurt.

As I was trying to figure out a way to move around without causing a large amount of pain, Cynder must have woken up. I noticed her when she chuckled at my predicament. _Oh, laugh. _I thought. _I doubt you'll feel any better. _She shook her head and put her claw on the green crystal. As pleasure washed over me, my eyes rolled up and I collapsed, luckily into a relatively painless position. Although she kept the button pressed for more than fifteen seconds, it felt at the same time a lot shorter and a lot longer. When it ended I was in bliss. I _almost_ whimpered, but then I caught myself.

_What's happening to me? I'm not stating to enjoy this, am I? I'm a free dragon, not her pet! _These were a few of my thoughts as I turned away from Cynder. The urge to beg for more was immensely strong, but I refused to give into it. For Sparx, for the Guardians, and for everybody I knew, I wouldn't let myself give in to whatever Malefore and Cynder had planned for me. At least not without a heck of a fight.

"I'm impressed, Pet. Few dragons would be able to take that and not come begging for more." This comment, made by Cynder, brought me back to my surroundings. "I still need to thank you, for helping us last night"

I snorted. It wasn't as if I had that much of a choice. Gaul would have slowly tortured me to death if I was his prisoner. And maybe not even to death, but close, so he… I broke off that chain of thought, knowing it was not at all good for my mental health. Simply put, I was much better off here, where I had the ghost of a chance to escape. I will admit, tough, I wasn't having much luck yet.

Cynder called for a late breakfast, and within five minutes we were chowing down. As I ate I looked over at Cynder. She was a dilemma. On one hand, she was fairly sadistic, liked causing pain, and had no problems punishing her standard minions. Yet at the same time, she was affectionate to me, genuinely cared for her elite guard, and was capable and willing to show mercy if impressed. I remembered Ignitus saying that we were greatly alike, and I had doubted him at the time. But now, I wondered exactly how true that was. I wondered what she would be like if she was not corrupted by Malefore.

Cynder finished eating, and stood up to go somewhere. She flipped the chain from the pillar to her bracelet, and proceeded to walk out the door, with me following behind her. Judging by the fact I was coming along, she was getting or giving a briefing or meeting. Since I couldn't tell anyone about the plans, and had none to tell them to even I could, Cynder say fit to drag me along. In fact, unless she was going to the dungeons or leaving Concurrent Skies, she took me along wherever she went. Understandable, given the assassination attempts Gaul had thrown at us recently.

I looked around the hallways and rooms I could see. Evidence of Gaul's rebellion was still there, in the form of bloodstains everywhere. But the bodies had already been removed by the slaves. Of course, Cynder and Malefore HAD to have slaves. Given, they couldn't really spare the apes for things like construction and cooking. Even I knew that. But that didn't mean I liked it, I actually hated the thought of slavery. Cynder had actually thought about making me her personal slave, I had learned. I liked that idea even less than I liked being her pet. As in, VERY little.

Malefore was sitting on his throne when we entered. I noted that the loyal apes we had seen yesterday were outside the room, but not inside. Either the dark master didn't trust them, or he was going to discuss sensitive information. Probably both. He motioned for Cynder, and by extension me, to sit down.

"Cynder," he began, "I have not been totally forthcoming with you, as far as my long term plans are concerned. In a few weeks I will have regained my full abilities. I am already at full physical strength. But I have not told you what I will do with that power." Cynder and I were looking at him confusedly, not quite sure where he was going.

"I need you to bear with me for a moment, and not jump to conclusions. I plan to use ancient magic to destroy the planet." Cynder and I both gaped at him, totally surprised. Malefore chuckled at our expressions. "The magical balance of this planet is off, and has been for a long time. An unknown evil from, I believe, outside this planet was planted here, and purple dragons were created to save it. I tried to fix this one thousand years ago, but the Guardians of that time had been corrupted by whatever was destroying the balance, and they banished me. But their plan backfired, all Guardians since have believed their lies with their whole heart. This throws off the power that corrupted the first Guardians.

"That is why Spyro and the current Guardians are still alive. They are against me because they have been fed lies their entire life, as were many of their predecessors, and did not know the truth. Whenever this power tried to corrupt a Guardian, they assumed it was me, and fended it off."

I was aghast. I would not, could not, believe what I was hearing. Malefore, good? I and the Guardians had been tricked? It was impossible, or was it? There were a few things that made sense now. I was never told exactly why Malefore had been banished, and while I was fighting, I had heard a voice in my head. But it was not Cynder's or Malefore's voice. And Malefore certainly wasn't acting nearly as evil as I had expected. I honestly wasn't sure anymore. In the meantime, Malefore began to speak again, and I continued to listen.

"Needless to say, I was not planning on dying in the process, or letting all life be destroyed. That would defeat the purpose. This is where my knowledge of Convexity comes in handy. You see, this power is attached to the planet, not the creatures that live here. Convexity is outside of the reach of this power, thus those that are in Convexity long enough, or have been exposed to the raw energy of it, are immune to the corruption. I plan to take my forces, and enough people to repopulate the planet, put them to sleep, and place them in Convexity. Thus, when I have destroyed and restored the planet it will not be totally lifeless. The power will be gone, and I will be able to watch over to make sure it never returns."

Although I was surprised by the fact Malefore would save innocents, his plan to set himself up as the ruler of the new planet was not surprising in the least. Cynder had a question, but he cut her off before she could voice it.

"Are you wondering why you have never seen or felt this power?" Cynder nodded. "It remains well hidden, and has been since I nearly destroyed it. I am beginning to believe however, that Gaul has long been corrupted. For instance, I ordered the capture of at least one egg, and preferably as many as possible. The only egg I wanted destroyed was Spyros, and that was only if you couldn't be captured." He addressed the last bit to me. "The fact that Gaul ordered the destruction of all but one egg was merely the final nail in his coffin, which leads me to the second, and more important, part of this meeting."

It took me several minutes to really think about and understand what Malefore had just said. Basically, he wanted to destroy the planet in order to destroy an evil power not of this world. But in the process thousands had died, he used slave labor and dark magic, and betrayed his own race (if he was telling the truth, I could understand and excuse the last part). I wondered if he was lying, but if he wasn't, and was actually trying to do the right thing, well, simply put, I was now totally confused. I caught only the last part of Malefore and Cynder's conversation, before we left.

**Cynder's POV**

The Dark Master gave me a moment to digest his long terms plans, before I noticed something he had said. "What do you mean, Master, the 'final nail in his coffin'?"

"Simply put, General, I have been long planning to replace the majority of the apes serving with me, excluding the ones who were actually loyal. Gaul's little bid for power did just that very nicely, with one exception." He was obviously waiting for me to ask a question, so ask it I did.

"What exception was that?"

He smiled, despite wanting me to ask exactly what I did. "He did it too early. The creatures that were to be their replacements are these; Grublins and Orcs." As he said this, holographic images appeared in a nearby crystal. **(A/N: They are the Grublins and Orcs from DotD, in case there is any confusion) **They are more loyal, effective, and easier to control than apes. They do have a few weaknesses, however. They are even less intelligent than apes, and are good for only combat. I need a little more finesse than they offer for the next part of my plan, capturing a population to save. Your idea with the Cheetahs will work quite nicely, but it isn't enough. We won't have numbers on our side for quite some time, thanks to that idiot ape. Do you have any ideas?"

I thought for a moment. We needed loyal, intelligent and strong soldiers. Who could we capture, or had already captured, that would fit the bill? I pondered this question for a few moments, before an idea came to me. But first, I had a question. "Master, are my prisoners safe?"

"Yes, they are safe. Quite by accident, you picked almost totally loyal troops for their guard." With that out of the way, I put forward my idea.

"The Guardians are our prisoners, and we have access to a strong supply of Convexity, right?"

Malefore frowned for a moment. "Yes, your point… Wait, I understand! General, you are a genius. Yes, that will work very well. But they need to be weaker if we want to be sure of success."

"Don't worry, Master, I can take care of that without difficulty, as long as I have some time. A week perhaps?" We spent the next few minutes discussing the most efficient way to do this. I noticed Spyro was paying no attention at all. This gave a chance to ask my Master a question.

"Master, if I capture dragons I think are worthy of it, can I do this to them?" He nodded and asked

"Do you already have someone in mind" I merely smiled and nodded. "So then, we will talk to the Guardians in here tomorrow. Until then, I have some things to do, if you don't mind, Master." Spyro caught only the last part of this exchange. The Dark Master nodded and told us "Dismissed." As Spyro and I left, I was already thinking about other targets that could effectively add to our forces. Spyro was still bewildered by the revelation of this unknown power. I, however, saw no reason to doubt my Master. After all, doubt never won battles, it only lost them.

The next morning I was waiting at my Masters side, my pet lying next to me. Spyro was nervous, and rightly so in my opinion. He did not like our plan for the Guardians, and was still struggling with the information Malefore had revealed yesterday. I had informed him of everything later that night, at least, everything besides what I didn't want him to know, of course. I was broken from my musings when the large doors opened. The Guardians came in two by two, and very heavily escorted. Five elite soldiers were assigned to each of them, and that was after they had been chained and had any magical energy siphoned off.

Ignitus and Terrador were in front, followed by Volteer and Cyril. The latter two had, on my advice, been muzzled. We did not need them chatting away though this. Nonetheless, they marched in here proudly, without any fear. I actually admired their courage a little. Spyro slunk farther into my shadow, but no closer to me. The presence of these four old dragons seemed to embolden him slightly. I wondered how long that would last.

"Bow to your Master, prisoners." One the apes told the Guardians. The result was actually very entertaining. Volteer and Cyril could do nothing but glare, so glare they did, and fiercely. Terrador simply snarled

"Make me!" while Ignitus replied with

"He is not my master". Not one of them bowed, it should be noted.

My master wasted no time with idle chitchat. My part would not come into play until later. "Don't bother bowing, Guardians, that isn't the point of this meeting. I have come to you with an offer. Join me, and help me rule. Or refuse, and back into your cells you will go. And by comparison, your previous stay will be a luxury. It's your choice."

"We will never join with you, Malefore; we would die before we would help you." Ignitus replied, with the other three Guardians nodding in agreement. This was going just as we expected.

"I am impressed with your spunk, I admit" Malefore told them. "Thus, I will make you a wager. If you can withstand my tortures for four days, you will go free. But if you surrender, you will become my servants."

"Why would we ever want to join you, Malefore?" Terrador spat.

"Good question." Malefore wasted no time in telling them what Spyro and I had learned yesterday, excluding his planed remedy. The Guardians refused to believe the story, but I could see the uncertainty in their eyes. Ignitus refused again.

"Although you tell a good story, it didn't stop you from killing Spyro. What would stop you from doing the same to us, hm?"

At this, my Master laughed. "Whatever makes you think that the purple whelping is dead?" Before Ignitus or Terrador could respond to that, I gave a tug with my wrist. Spyro stumbled into view from where he had been lying in my shadow. I brought my paw down on top of him, and proceeded to stroke him. I could feel his anger, but he didn't show it; rather, he glared at a corner of the ceiling. Like I said before, he learned quickly.

I smiled at the Guardians as the gasped at my pet's predicament. "When I defeated him, I certainly thought about killing him. But as I contemplated it, I thought I could use a pet." I taunted them. "Are you still sure you'd rather not join us?" Ignitus shook his head again.

Malefore sighed and smiled. "Then I will see you in four days. Take them away." The Guardians said nothing as they left, still stunned by me revelation.

After they were gone I turned to my Master. "You lied to them, didn't you Master? You would never let them go free, I know that."

"Yes," he smiled, "I lied. If they give in, they will be killed. But if they survive and remain defiant, we will take them to the Well of Souls. By that point they will be weak enough that, even unwilling, the Convexity will enter their bodies and minds. Combined with a few of my spells, they will be unable to resist the truth. And four of the most powerful dragons in the realm will be my loyal servants." My Master and I laughed, while Spyro shed silent tears. I was not worried about him though, soon, he would have no reason to cry.

_A/N: Malefore reveals his reasons for his actions, the Guardians make an appearance, and we get a look inside of Spyros head. Sadly, this ends rather badly for the poor fellow. And now we must decide. Was Malefore lying to plant seeds of doubt in the minds of Spyro and the Guardians, or was he forced to use evil magics to achieve good goals? You decide. If I ever decide to do a sequel to this story (which is unlikely right now) I will reveal the answer. Until then, you decide, since it doesn't matter a whole lot either way. Next chapter the twist is revealed! Get your final guesses in now! I dropped another hint this chapter. Constructive criticism is welcome, and until the next chapter, have a nice day._


	6. Chapter 6

_Alright, I admit it. This was a long wait. I'm sorry. With that said I can get down to business. The challenge is now closed. I will list the people who got it right at the end of the chapter. Unfortunately, no one was able to come up with the phrase I wanted, so I'll reveal that later as well. In the reviews guesses have gone both ways about whether Malefore was bad or good. The nice thing is, there is no right answer. If I decide to make a sequel to this story, I'll pin down whether he was good or bad. But, since I don't plan on making a sequel, its personal choice. Without any more of my rambling, let's get on with the chapter. I want to thank my sister for agreeing to look this over and helping me with typos._

_Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Legend of Spyro series. If I did, something would be wrong, since I'm still in high school. I haven't even taken economics 101!_

**A Dark Fate**

Cynder's POV

I couldn't help but be happy, considering the situation. Gaul was gone, I was in charge of making sure that the Guardians were ready to be exposed to Convexity in four days, and my plan for Spyro was coming along nicely. Speaking of which, I glanced down. I was in my chamber, and Spyro was lying on his pillow. It was the evening after my Master had told the Guardians his plans for them. My pet wasn't looking at me, but then again, he wasn't deliberately staring off away from me either. Between what he had learned from the Dark Master and the fate of the Guardians, he was still in a little bit of shock. This was going just as well as I could have hoped it would.

"A little confused are we, my pet?" I asked rhetorically. Given, I had been surprised by what my Master had told us. But it did not concern me now, thus I gave it no mind. Spyro turned his head toward me. His face seemed to ask me _Why? _As improbable as it was, I could understand his confusion. He was told everything he had fought for was a lie, and that those who had taught him had been lied to as well. It was enough to confuse almost anyone.

What he did next surprised me though. He buried his head in my forearm. I suppose should have expected it. I was the one stable thing in this fortress, and the one person who had shown him any kindness. I had no idea about what to do. I was tempted to growl. The only reason why I didn't was that this made it even easier for me.

"Well now, what is this?" I asked, and even as I said it he began to move away, shocked by his own weakness. "I didn't say you could move, did I?" He froze, just in time for my paw to land on him. He tensed up, but began to relax, albeit with a scowl on his face, as I started to stroke him. I would miss being able to do that, I admit. But the bonuses would more than make up for it. At this rate, I might be able to put the final stage of my plan into action tomorrow.

"I hope you're ready for a flight." I stated matter-of-factly. He looked up at me in confusion. "I'm taking a little trip, and you are coming with me. I can't leave you here can I?" When it came to his safety I was still a little paranoid. If anyone had told me I would feel like this when I had first decided to make Spyro my pet I would've laughed in their face. He shook his head no, and I inwardly chuckled. He had no idea what the trip tomorrow would entail. I called for dinner, and spent the rest of the evening relaxing. A large amount of this involved petting Spyro, planning for when I would return to combat, and thinking about others I may want to serve as my lieutenants. I had already decided to use as few Grublins and Orcs as possible. This meant I would need to find new ways of filling my ranks, but the Dark Master's allowance for more corrupted dragons meant this shouldn't be much of a problem. My last thought before I went to sleep was what I was going to do with the collar. I decided to keep it; one never knew when they would have a similar opportunity.

Spyro's POV

When I woke up, I found myself rather warmer than usual. This was because in the night, Cynder had draped her foreleg over me. What surprised me was that I was not revolted by this thought. I wriggled my way out from underneath it, and thought about what I had learned. There was no way I would happily help Malefore, of that much I was sure. Then I thought about Cynder. I wished I could free her from the dark master's control. Ignitus was right when he said we were alike. Thinking of Ignitus made me think off all the Guardians, and I shuddered at what they must be going though right about now. I had spent a day being tortured, and it wasn't pleasant. They had four.

I glanced at Cynder. While I was ashamed at my weakness last night, I had to admit, it felt good. I was not impressed by myself. Her comment right after that though, about going on a trip, now that had me intrigued. I had not left Concurrent Skies since I had woken up here. Stretching my wings slowly, I sighed happily. They were still as good as ever, and I had no doubt I could reach where ever we were going. Then again I didn't have much of a choice. I doubted that Cynder would stop to let me catch my breath. On the flip side, I have been pleasantly surprised before. Cynder woke up, and rewarded me for my cooperation last night. For a half minute she held her finger on that gem. And when it ended, I whimpered for more. Then I punched myself for it. Cynder laughed at my actions, which made me feel no better, then ordered breakfast, which did. After breakfast Cynder chained me to the pillar, as usual, and left to take care of something. Probably the Guardians. I sighed again as I thought about what they must be going though. It was just getting into midday when Cynder returned. I had been stretching my wings some more, and when she saw me she cracked a smile

"You seem eager to go, now follow me. The flight isn't short." She told me. Go figure. We walked to the top of one of the towers. It wasn't the one Ignitus had been trapped on, but it was similar. Then again, the storm was still making it hard to see. The storm had broken once that I had seen, the morning after Gaul's attempted coup. Cynder was kind enough to lengthen the chain. I was thankful; otherwise it would have been very difficult to fly safely. And on that note we lifted off, the first time in about two weeks for me.

Cynder was right; it had been a long flight. We had left Concurrent skies just before midday, and it was now late afternoon. We were at a mountain, just standing all alone. Whereas it had been raining at Concurrent Skies, it was snowing here. We landed on a platform near the peak of the mountain. The peak looked oddly like the head of a dragon, complete with an open mouth, and a green beam of light coming out. The head looked suspiciously like Malefore's. Cynder smiled as she shortened the chain again. "Welcome to the Mountain of Malefore." She told me. The walls glowed a similar green to the beam of light outside. There were a few apes wondering about, but for the most part, it was silent. When we came to a fork in the path, Cynder took the one that led upwards. I followed, but not before glancing down the other one. Since it was curved I couldn't see much, though.

Cynder smiled when she saw me looking. I realized she seemed to be pleased with my curiousness, and I had no idea why. We came to a large door, big enough for Cynder to fit though. She knocked, and I heard Malefore's voice call out "Come in." For a second I was confused, and then I remembered I had not seen him all day. This couldn't be good. Malefore only left Concurrent Skies if something big was going on.

We walked into the room, slightly worried in my case, and I looked around. The beam of light I had noticed from outside was in here, only it was not green, but more of a purplish color. A glance up confirmed the light passed though a small hole in the ceiling, with a natural filter in the way. That was probably what gave it its green color. Whereas the previous walls had glowed green, this room was darker, with the only illumination coming from the beam and four torches. Malefore was sitting on the far side of the room, facing us. He was smiling, another bad sign.

Cynder locked the door we had come in by, and then sat in front of it. As it was the only way out of the room, I was now trapped. Then she did something that caught me completely by surprise. She loosened my collar and pulled it up over my head. I was trying to figure out why she did this when Malefore spoke to me.

"You know now my reasons for what I did, Spyro. Admittedly, Gaul misinterpreted many of my orders, purposefully I might add, and as such many things occurred that I wished hadn't. Regardless, purple dragons were created to save this planet. Will you accept your destiny?"

I hadn't thought about it in the slightest, at least before Malefore asked me. But when I did, I knew what I was going to say. I started to speak…and a rasping cough came out. Now I know what happens when one can't speak for two weeks. It took me about a minute to get my mouth working again. Not a very good start, especially since both of the other dragons in the rooms chuckled at my difficulties. When I was finally able to speak, I told Malefore my opinion.

"You may be right about our destinies, Malefore. But I know what you did. I know how you corrupted Cynder, your plan for the Guardians, the atrocities you've had your troops commit. Maybe some of them weren't your fault, but some were. Perhaps you are right about this power, but I will not help you destroy it, not as long as you go about it like this." It wasn't easy, but I got it out. I looked to behind me and, to my surprise, Cynder smiled, though not at me. Confused, I turned back to the dragon sitting in front of me.

Malefore shook his head, but did not frown. "I am not surprised, Spyro. I was much like you when I first learned of this role. But desperate times call for desperate measures. Are you sure you do not wish to join me?" I shook my head, with no hesitation. "Just as we suspected. I honestly would have been slightly disappointed if you were persuaded so easily. Unfortunately, you don't have a choice in the matter. If it was up to me, you would probably have died by now. But Cynder, it seems, has taken a fancy to you. She feels you would make a good Captain, and considering the new situation, I can see the advantages."

I turned to look at Cynder again, but before I could really start, Malefore gave a nod, and I found myself getting shoved into the beam. I stopped moving when I was about halfway though. Originally it had been less than half my length in diameter. But when I became trapped in it, it began to grow until I was completely surrounded by purple energy. I could hear, but not see, Malefore and Cynder, as they got up and began to circle the pillar of energy.

"When you leave this energy, this Convexity, you mind will be ready for me to mold into what I want. You will be unable to resist becoming my servant. And you will be totally loyal. No thoughts of betrayal will ever cross your mind." Even as he spoke, I felt a strange presence in my mind. It was growing, and I caught a fragment of it. It was power hungry, cruel, and uncontrollable. But then it began to recede. A new presence took its place. This one was different. It was dark, but not evil. As this was going on in my head, I managed to look down at my body. The movement was difficult, and I could move no other part of my body, despite the pain that was shooting though me. I watched as my scales turned darker, and my limbs began to lengthen. I saw no more, as the presence in my mind and the pain in my body began to overwhelm me. My last thought was how I failed the Guardians, Sparx, and everyone I knew. Of course, that depended on what one's definition of failure was.

Cynder's POV

I watched as my Master manipulated the energies flowing into the young dragon. As I fiddled with the collar, I wondered what would happen. I had been the only other dragon exposed to this energy, and then it was without control or guidance. I did not know how the energy would react to my Master's control of it. We could both see the silhouette of the dragon within, and I watched as how it grew. Whereas he had been bulky and somewhat disproportionate before, his body began lengthening, and his neck, legs, and wings began to grow. It stopped when the dragon was a little less than half my size. If he proved himself, his size would be increased until he was about as tall as me. Throughout the entire process, he had been writhing in pain and I felt a slight pity for him. I remembered how uncomfortable this process was. The beam began to shrink, and Spyro stilled. Soon he was floating suspended and limp, with the beam having returned to its previous size. Malefore nodded, and I shoved him out of it. The last of the glare cleared and I got my first look at my new subordinate.

His scales had darkened. Although they had darkened, the purple ones were not quite as dark as my Masters were. His yellow scales, wings and horns were now a muted, but shining gold. They also had a bit more of a shine to them, although I had no reason why. For some reason they seemed quite attractive. I turned my attention to the rest of his body. It was now similarly proportioned to my own in terms of length, but his body was considerably more bulked out than I was. **(Think a large version of Spyro from Dawn of the Dragon, only a darker shade) **His eyes opened, pitch white, but he did not move. My Master began casting the spells that would make him totally loyal, as I was. As this happened I looked around the room. In a few days time the Guardians would be undergoing a similar process, though there would be differences.

My attention returned to the center of the room as the Dark Master approached the conclusion of the process. Spyro was to be my bodyguard, aide, and all-around general second-in-command. As such, the spells made sure he was loyal to me, and the Dark Master. Otherwise, however, they did not affect him much. The more unchanged he was, the better a commander he would be. As my Master ended the process, Spyros eyes returned to normal. The only difference was, unsurprisingly, that the irises had darkened, so that they now matched his scales. He began to groan, and gather himself. He stood up, then promptly bowed to the two of us.

"What would you have me do, Master, General Cynder?" He asked. I couldn't stop a smile from breaking out over my features. This was perfect. After a few quick tests that he was not affected by his past, and that he was totally loyal to the two of us (which he passed with flying colors) I left to do a few other things. Malefore remained in the chamber to recover his strength. Spyro followed without me having to even ask. After I checked that everything would be ready for the cheetahs, who would arrive that night, my new Captain and I left for my fortress. It was late at night when we returned, but who in their right mind would attack two of the strongest dragons in the realms? We approached my chambers, and I turned to one of the two doors which I had not shown Spyro before. This one was an identical, if smaller, suite to mine. The other was a briefing room. I had little need for it in the past, but now with someone intelligent to discuss strategy with, that was one of many things changing.

"I expect to see bright and early in the morning Captain. Meet me in the briefing room. Breakfast will be waiting."

"Yes, General." With that he nodded and turned into his chamber while I continued on to mine. I had informed him on the flight here that, unless I stated otherwise, he was to refer to me as "General", and "Ma'am". As I entered my chambers, I found that, for a second, I missed him being in here. Then I smiled. I may have one day have him return.

_A/N: Nice speech, Spyro. A pity it didn't make any difference. And now for the winners of the challenge. The only person to get it right was: dangerouslysafe! He correctly guessed that Spyro would be corrupted. Honorable mention goes to: Sciencewolf, for guessing every single chapter, and to pokeguru23, for coming close. Unfortunately, no one came up with exactly what I wanted, which was Dark Spyrox Dark Cynder. I have to say I have not seen this pairing on this site much, if at all. But yes, I am now getting into the main romance part of the story. We are over halfway done, so stick with me just a little longer. And until the next chapter,_

_Have a nice day!_


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: Ya, I'm back. Sorry about the delay. I have finally figured out what it takes to get me to sit down and write. An hour doing laps in the pool, and pulling a muscle in my leg, in case you are wondering. I have been getting a lot of complements for this story. While that makes me very happy, it doesn't really make me a better writer. So if you have some constructive criticism, feel free to state it in reviews. The first part of this chapter may drag on a little, but I figure it is necessary. On a completely unrelated note, I just discovered that I have more difficulty with the authors note than with the actual story. Eh, that's enough of my unimportant and random rambling, on with the story._

_Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Legend of Spyro series. If I did, I wouldn't be writing this._

**A Dark Fate**

Spyro's POV

When I woke up that morning, I was, to put it simply, confused. It took me several moments to remember what had happened. And not just what happened yesterday, but rather my entire life. The first things that came back to me were my memories of my early life, no surprise. I snarled when I thought of most of the dragon flies I grew up with. My parents, though ignorant, did try their honest best to give me a happy life, and I suppose I can't fault them for that. Likewise, Sparx may have been a coward, and rather useless most of the time, but he was loyal, and tried to help me however he could. The rest of the dragonflies though, I would be quite happy to go back and show them just how powerful I was now. Now that I think about it though, whatever happened to Sparx?

Just as I began to think about the problem, I remembered what Cynder had told me to do last night. Luckily the briefing room was just across the hall from my chambers, so it took exactly 6.25 seconds to go from my bed to opening the door in the briefing room. Cynder was standing with her back to me, looking over a map. "I hope I am not late, General." I said, standing at attention.

"No, you were right on time, captain. Though, for future reference, there is a timepiece above the fireplace. It is checked weekly. I would strongly advise making use of it. Now come here. We have planning to do, though little can be accomplished in the next few days."

"The Guardians, we will have to find to find a way to move them, won't we?" Sadly, though I had been enlarged considerably, I still couldn't move the Guardians. That meant the Dark Master and/or General Cynder would be doing the heavy lifting. "I am afraid I do not know how much use I will be in this endeavor, but I will do whatever you need of me."

"You almost certainly will be guarding whichever two Guardians we transport first. The holding facilities at the Mountain of Malefore are more… primitive than the ones here. If they will escape anywhere, it would be there." As she said this, she glanced at me for the first time. She locked eyes with me, and I knew the unspoken message. This would be a final test of my loyalty, and I had no intention to fail it. I chuckled at my ignorance as I thought of what I would have done, had I been told the same thing this time yesterday. "After that, our objective is the city of Warfang. Many of the resistance is centered there, primarily dragons and moles. Taking Warfang will be a triple blow to the enemy. They will lose, and we will gain, many skilled warriors and weapon smiths. We also will have unopposed rule over the surrounding area. And lastly, the loss of the city will strike a great blow to the enemy morale. An added benefit for us is that many dragons and moles that the Dark Master would like to save live there. Capturing them is a secondary objective, we want as many of them as possible, but getting the city comes first."

I nodded, knowing that when the planet was destroyed and reformed, there would need to be people who could repopulate it. What exactly the preferable characteristics were, I wasn't sure. I was confused by another thing, though. "You seem to have this all planed out, whatever do you need me for, Ma'am?" I asked.

"An excellent question, now come here." General Cynder said, motioning me forward to the map table. "We have our goals, and our general assets have already been allotted. What have not yet been finalized are the actual plans for the attack. Aside from you and me, we will have the Guardians, provided that everything goes smoothly, an elite core of apes, and the majority of the Grublins and Orcs summoned so far. With that knowledge, what are your initial ideas for the assault?"

I looked over the map, and noted especially the estimated enemy numbers and the location of the cannons. The archers on the top of the walls would be a nuisance, but not much more, and I had an idea to deal with any dragons that came out of the safety of the walls. But the cannons had me stumped.

"With our numbers, the mole archers on the wall tops will not have much of an eaffect. And if any dragons come out, I figured we should meet them head on. Any we don't need will simply be driven to the ground, where our lesser troops will take care of them." As I said this, something inside me protested, but I paid it no heed. "However, I would advise stationing the apes at the rear, making an encampment with the ability to hold a large number of dragons. That way, should we come up a dragon that we find is worthy of sparing, we merely incapacitate them and bring them to the camp, where they will be held for later. Unfortunately, I do not have any ideas on how to get past the cannons and beyond the walls."

Cynder smiled at me "I had thought of capturing the dragons that came out to fight us, but had not thought of having the apes guard them. Discussing strategy with you is already proving to be beneficial. And I have no doubt you will quickly improve in planning. As for the cannons, I know how to take care of them. Now, have you thought of...?" It continued like this for several hours. We picked apart the defenses of Warfang as best we could, to the extent of both of us forgetting about breakfast and lunch. Only when one of the apes poked his head into the briefing room and spoke did we realize how much time had passed.

"Mistress, the Dark Master would like to speak with you, and wishes for your Captain to come to the armory to be fitted for battle equipment." With that done, he darted back out the door. I turned to General Cynder, and only then did I notice how close we were standing. Blushing I jumped away, though I thought that either she didn't care, or didn't actually notice. But when she smiled at me, I realized she did it purposefully. As I started towards the armory, I thought about the General. When I was here before the truth had been revealed to me, she had been the only one to show me kindness. And today she was polite and kind; though she made sure I got no ideas about being her equal. As a rule Cynder was down to earth. If it didn't matter, she didn't worry about it. But if something was important or caught her interest, then she gave it no rest until she had resolved whatever it was to her satisfaction. And that rarely, if ever, involved going to the Dark Master. Something stirred in me when I thought about her. It was something that had been suppressed until now, but I found I liked it. I was perfectly content to see where this feeling, and Mistress Cynder, would lead me.

Cynder's POV

Malefore had approved of our plans for Warfang, and asked how I thought the Guardians would react, both to the fact we had lied to them, and the fact that Spyro was now my loyal Captain. That was two days ago, and now I was going to check on the Guardians. They hadn't given in yet, but they were in bad condition. Another day of this treatment would probably have killed them. For some reason that thought didn't give me nearly as much pleasure as it would have in the past. Perhaps my new found mercy had something to do with Spyro? Regardless, I pushed this thought to the back of my head as I approached the dungeons. In my years of combat, I had learned that clearing my mind greatly decreased the chances of my defeat. True, this wasn't a battle, but it never hurts to stay in practice.

The Guardians couldn't see each other, but were close enough to hear when the others were tortured (I offset the periods, so they weren't all being shocked at once), for the mental impact. Another lesson I had learned on the battlefield was to never underestimate the effect of psychological warfare. I had learned many such lessons while serving under Gaul and not from him. What with the training the apes gave me and the experience of my opponents, I had survived my early battles only by luck and the skin of my teeth. Having no wish to lose Spyro in a similar situation, I had been teaching him these lessons whenever I had the chance. He already knew several, and willingly took to heart the ones he didn't. His willingness to learn and his acknowledgment of his betters were two of the many things I liked about the dragon. Back when he was my pet he had already stirred something in me that no one else ever has, and it was even stronger now.

And this was why I needed to keep my mind clear. If one of the Guardians retained enough strength to try weasel information out of me while I was preoccupied, they would almost certainly be successful. Fortunately, that was not a problem. Ignitus and Cyril were already unconscious, and Volteer was barely awake. Terrador alone was still lucid enough to acknowledge when I came in to their cell block. Having trained since he was a child for warfare, I was not surprised. He snarled at me, and I smirked back. Even as I watched he and Volteer were shocked again. This one finally knocked the yellow dragon out, but Terrador gritted his teeth and fought through it. "Are they all fit for transport?" I asked, turning to the ape manning the controls.

"Yes General, but barely. I would advise healing all of them before you do anything drastic. And you may want to knock out that one if you plan on taking them anywhere." He said, pointing at Terrador. I nodded my head, and the ape pulled a separate lever. A surge of black energy surged into the chains, and through them to the Earth Guardian. His eyes rolled to the back of his head, and his body went limp. It was time to bring them to the Well of Souls. Several apes appeared, and began to drag the limp forms of the Guardians to a landing platform. I would take Ignitus this first trip, as he was the wiliest of them, and I did not trust Dreadwings with him. Under normal circumstances I wouldn't trust Dreadwings with any of the four Guardians, but I didn't have time to transport all of them myself. I gave each one a light dose of poison to make sure they didn't wake up until we had arrived. My Master had gone ahead and was now preparing for their arrival. Spyro would be coming with me on the first trip, and would stay with the Guardians when I dropped off the first two.

The Dreadwings grabbed Terrador, and began to lift off. I grabbed Ignitus and followed. He was lighter than I remembered. Then again, he hadn't had any food for four days, and little enough before that. Spyro took off and flew in the over-watch position, watching out for anybody who got the dumb idea to come after us. He would stay with these two when we reached the Mountain of Malefore. Although the Dark Master could defeat them alone, it would not be difficult for them to ruin what we were doing in the process. I personally considered these two the more dangerous of the Guardians. More Dreadwings would bring the other two a part of the way, but I couldn't spare them to take the remaining two Guardians all the way. I would have to go back for them. As we flew I couldn't help but think again of how the Guardians would be useful. Terrador was a strategist to be respected, and fearsome in close combat. Volteer was the smartest, book-wise, and was prone to be very good at sniffing out spies. Cyril was the most potent with magic and an excellent diplomat if he could swallow his pride. Ignitus was a natural leader and teacher. He was the wisest, and was known for thinking outside of the box. They would be incredible assets to our cause.

The flight was silent, with few exceptions, and none of note. When we arrived at the mountain, the Dreadwings and I simply dropped Terrador and Ignitus onto the platform. Apes arrived to drag them to the chamber where Spyro had been exposed to Convexity. The four Dreadwings and I began to head back for Cyril and Volteer; we would meet them about halfway from here to Concurrent Skies. Spyro followed the first two Guardians inside. Although I had full confidence in him, if he was to turn traitor at any point it would be now. I sincerely hopped that wouldn't happen.

It didn't. When I walked into the chamber where this process was to be undertaken, both of the Guardians were still unconscious, the Dark Master had just finished his preparations, and Spyro was lying in the corner, watching and staying out of the way. The apes wasted no time in chaining the remaining two Guardians in their positions. The poison I had injected into the Guardians about eight hours ago was starting to wear off, and a red gem for each of them finished the job. After all, we couldn't have them die now that we had come so far, could we? They began to stir at about the same time, and slowly opened their eyes. Spyro had moved to my shadow, since we planned to shock them with his loyalty. I had muzzled Volteer and Cyril again. Hopefully it would only be temporary.

"Where am I?" Murmured Ignitus. He glanced around, and tried to stand up, but was pulled back down by the chains around his neck.

"We won Malefore. We lasted four days. Now let us go." Unlike Ignitus, Terrador didn't bother with examining his surroundings, instead going straight to the point. He did, however, figure out where the other Guardians were. They were chained in a square shape, and their mass took up much of the center of the room. Most of the chains were dedicated to holding them down. The one exception was a chain that went from thier necks into the beam of Convexity. What wasn't taken up by them was taken up by the beam of Convexity and Malefore. Spyro and I were sitting in front of the door, so that all of the Guardians could see me. The darkness hid Spyro for now.

"I must admit, I am amused by your belief that I would free you after all the trouble you have caused, and all the effort that went into capturing you." Malefore chuckled. "I lied when I said you could go free. Rather, if you had given in you would've been killed. But, since you stayed stubborn, you did exactly what I had hoped for. You confirmed you were strong in body and spirit, and at the same time weakened yourself enough for this to be possible. You played right into my paws."

They were all unsurprised by this news, but they did seem to lose much of their remaining will to resist. They knew they could do nothing now. But looking around, Ignitus noticed something. Turning to me, he scathingly asked "Got bored of your 'pet', did you, Cynder?"

I laughed and spoke. "Quite the opposite actually. I found that I liked him more as a Captain." Spyro stood up and walked forward, rendering the Guardians speechless.

"Spyro whatever did they do to you?" Ignitus asked, aghast, after a moment, while Terrador yelled

"Spyro, help us! Get us out of here."

Spyro laughed, and sat down calmly. "I will be happy to help you, Guardians. Once you see the truth, and become our lieutenants, that is." He smirked. The Guardians were flabbergasted. I laughed simply at their facial expressions.

Malefore smiled, but then became serious again. "See Guardians? Even your 'hero' has accepted his destiny. Will you accept yours?"

They shook their heads, but they had a sense of hopelessness about them. "Sadly, you don't have a choice. There is a reason you are here at the Well of Lost Souls." With that said Malefore began to channel the Convexity though the chains and into the Guardians. They fell to the ground and began writhing in pain, as their scales darkened. Spyro and I both winced at the sight and sound. We knew how painful this process was. It was worse for them, since they were all undergoing it at once. It took about four times as long. The four captives, glowing purple, began to age backwards. It wouldn't be much, only a little more than fifteen years in an easily two hundred year life span. Although I didn't know the specifics, I did know that being exposed to raw Convexity moves a dragon closer to their prime. The changes to their bodies were far less drastic than mine and Spyros, unsurprisingly. Malefore waited only a few moments to begin the spells of loyalty. From this point on I had seen the process, and didn't find it all that interesting. When they opened their eyes they were the same color as their scales, they bowed to us once we unchained them, you know the drill. I was more interested in the Cheetahs I had captured. They were doing just fine, and would be exposed to Convexity the next day, I learned.

There weren't a whole lot of important things that happened after that. We made sure the Guardians were loyal, and assigned their duties. All four would be under my command for the assault on Warfang, but after that two or three of them would be off doing other missions at any one time. Malefore returned with us this time, but immediately retired once we arrived. I had a few apes show the Guardians their new quarters. They weren't nearly as lavish as mine or Spyro's. On the way back, Spyro and I had shared a laugh about what the old Guardians were to do if they could to themselves now. When I entered my chambers I relaxed on my bed and looked around. The helmets were still there, as was the collar. I reflected on it as I feel asleep. Although I doubted that the feeling of control would ever feel quite the same, it was certainly something I would have to try again. Maybe _I should get Spyro one too_, I thought. As I thought of the younger purple dragon, I felt that feeling in my chest, but feel asleep before I could contemplate it.

_A/N: So, the Guardians are under Malefore's control, and Spyro and Cynder have odd feelings about one another. You, of course, already know what they are. Most of the main plot points have been cleared up by now, with the exception of the romance and the actual events. For that reason, the next chapter or two will be covering important events throughout the next year or so. I started writing this chapter Saturday afternoon, then was constantly interrupted until now. If there seems to be breaks in the flow of the story, that's why. If you guys have any constructive criticism to give me, feel free. And until I can write the next chapter,_

_Have a nice day!_


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: As much as some may wish (Not any of you, I hope), I'm not dead yet. I have been busy lately, but since that's no excuse, feel free to rant at me in the reviews (only at me, not at my story please). I've gone back and updated a few of my previous chapters, so the spelling errors shouldn't be quite as bad. If I'm rambling too much, please tell me so I can go back and fix it. There will be some time skips in this and the following chapters; I'll try to let you know when they occur. For example, the first part takes place during the attack on Warfang. Now, let's get on with the story. __**I want to says something first! This is Soldier of Knowledge's sister, and I would like to let you know that I edited/reviewed this story before puplication! :D You can continue bro.**_

_Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Legend of Spyro series. If I did, I would never have been able to complete it in the first place! I do own my characters though,though; they'll be introduced in this chapter._

**A Dark Fate**

**Cynder's POV**

I wandered though the camp at the rear of our lines. Apes were everywhere, but they weren't lounging around. They were either preparing to go into the city to root out any dragons, moles or others that were hiding, or they were watching the captured dragons. About a dozen were chained up and in cages. All were wounded to some extent, and most were unconscious. Several moles were being kept elsewhere in the camp. After all, dragons weren't the only species our Master wanted to save. I turned back to the smoking city, and watched as Cyril walked up to me. Both he and Volteer had been badly wounded in this fight. Volteer suffered a glancing blow from a cannonball. It was enough to keep him out of the fight for a little while, but he had been patched up and was now leading a flanking maneuver. Cyril had been ambushed by four dragons soon after we broke though the walls. One was a coward and murderer, and joined in for the bloodshed. Unsurprisingly, he ran when I arrived. He was now dead. The leader of the attackers, on the other paw, was a fine fighter, and _tried_ to sacrifice herself so the other two could escape. Her attempt backfired in two ways, however. Firstly, I had not killed her, but instead threw her into one of the cages. And one of the other two dragons had been captured by Spyro not long after. Nonetheless, they mauled Cyril badly before being defeated. He was only now returning to battle, and was giving me a report on the way out.

"Most of the non-combatants are trapped in the academy complex by Spyro, Ignitus and Terrador, and have stopped them from entering thus far. Volteer's flanking maneuver has also brought many of the surviving warriors to battle. However, a sizable fraction of the defenders have vanished into the city, and are conducting guerrilla warfare. A normal force of apes, orcs, or grublins would not be sufficient to defeat them, General."

"Then that is your new mission. Ignitus and Terrador will be joining you shortly. Take the troops that you need. I will go aid Spyro in taking the academy complex. This city will be ours by nightfall." Cyril nodded and turned away, as I unfurled my wings and took to the air. I had seen, and faced, Spyro in battle before and knew just how good of a fighter the young purple was. If he and two of the Guardians had been stopped, I knew the defenses must be very impressive.

I looked down on the field surrounding Warfang. It was littered with the bodies of orcs and grublins, with exactly four dragon bodies near the walls. After those four had been killed, and another four had been captured, the dragons stopped attacking the main part of the army, instead concentrating on the forces on the wall tops. But by then it was too late, as enough siege towers had made it to the walls to overwhelm the cannons. I smirked as I saw the cannon over the main gate. There were fewer mole bodies surrounding this one than most, but many more of my forces were slain. The moles had fought to their last breath to knock out as many of my siege engines as possible. The mole manning the actual cannon had stopped firing only when he was physically knocked out and lifted from the control seat. More than a few of those warriors were captured, to my satisfaction.

The amount of Warfang bodies was greater inside of the city, but my forces still paid for every street and house. Unlike the moles and dragons, however, I had planned for heavy loses, and could sustain them for quite some time. The exceptions to that were myself, Spyro, and the Guardians. Speaking of the purple dragon, I had arrived at the academy complex. As I landed another flight of arrows flew over the walls, striking several grublins dumb enough to show themselves (dumb grublins, isn't that redundant?).

"What is the difficulty?" I asked Spyro, wasting no time.

"They have enough arrow slits and murder holes around the gate to prevent our forces from forcing the gate open. A large group of archers are preventing us from flying over the wall and taking out the defenders from that side. And, unfortunately, I can't leave this position, while neither of the Guardians have the strength or angle to eliminate them from range." Spyro answered. I smiled. I must admit, they had fine defenses, considering the time they had. But it wouldn't be quite enough to save them.

"That won't be a problem much longer. Watch and learn, Captain." As I lifted off again I heard Spyro order another attack on the gate to give me cover. Smart. As soon as I crested the wall I blow a tornado at the main group of archers. It was a large group, and I could see why the others had trouble taking them out. The tornado scattered them, and I dove into the shadows. They knew I was somewhere in the courtyard, but had no idea where. One group of moles made the mistake of backing up against a dark wall. It only took me a single swipe with my claws to kill the lot of them. Despite my attacks, most of the archers regrouped and prepared to begin firing again. This was what I had been waiting for. As soon as they bunched up I appeared in the middle of them. Even as theyy flew though the air I released a great burst of crimson Fear energy. Many moles were paralyzed, and most of the rest fled in absolute terror. A few managed to fight though the fear, and took aim at me. I rewarded them for their will power, with a strike from the blunt side of me tail blade. My attack had also disrupted the defense of the gate, and it flew open, with orcs and grublins streaming though. In the lead were Spyro and the Guardians.

"Ignitus, Terrador, get back out into the city, and eliminate any groups of warriors still resisting. Grublins, orcs, surround the complex, nobody gets out. Spyro, with me. We're clearing out the interior. Use your elements to imprison any we want alive. Apes are already on their way to restrain them." I heard various means of confirmation, and I then vanished into the door way, Spyro right behind me.

The defenders had blown out the torches to give themselves an advantage. Sadly for them, it had no effect on us. As we ventured into the academy, the sounds of fighting outside dulled. Whether that was because the fighting was slacking off or not, I didn't know. The first four rooms were empty, and the next one only had a few cowardly staff members. They tried to run, but we never gave them the chance. The fifth room, however, had a surprise. I entered first, and saw nothing. I let my guard down, and suddenly got knocked the ground from behind. I turned to scold Spyro, just in time to see two powerful lightning bolts and a small flight of arrows strike him. As he flew across the room I realized he was standing were I had been a minute ago. He took the attack meant for me. A pair of lightning dragons and six moles were standing behind a curtain that blended into the wall. They prepared for another volley, but I beat them two it. I was angrier than I had ever remembered, angrier than when I first learned of the purple dragon's existence, angrier than when he managed to escape my talons at Munitions Forge, and angrier than when he successfully followed me into Convexity. I literally saw red.

A burst of acid flew from my maw, slamming into the head of the first dragon. The moles were scattered by a wind orb less than a second later. I pounced on the uninjured dragon, and we rolled out from the alcove they had been standing in. He fought with the courage of desperation, but in his eyes I saw hate, not just for me, but also for my Captain. I forever ended that hate with a snap of my jaws to his neck. The other dragon was just getting up when my claws raked across his throat and sent him back down to the ground again. This time he didn't get up. The four surviving moles attempted to flee out a small doorway, but when my tale sliced the first one in half, and the last was slain by my shadow breath, the last two turned to fight. They scored no hits on me.

I took a deep breath, and began to calm down. I wasn't entirely sure why I had gone berserk, but I knew it had to do with my affection for Spyro. The dragon in question was still out cold from the attack. Only three of the arrows had struck him, and they were not poisoned. On the other paw, both of the lightning bolts had hit solidly, and he would bear the marks of this attack for many days, if not the rest of his life. Luckily for him I found a few red gems in the room. After he had absorbed the energy he began to regain conciseness. Upon opening his eyes, the first thing he asked was if I was okay. I was flattered, not only did he take the attack for me; he was more worried about me condition than his own.

"I am fine, Captain. They were unable to harm me. Thanks to you." I said, as I aided him up. "Now, if you feel you cannot continue, I will not hold it against you."

He shook his head and told me "I will continue as long as you need me to, General." I was touched inside. The loyalty spells did not force him to take the attack. They merely prevented him from betraying the Dark Master and me. He had saved me all of his own free will. I did not show him happiness however, merely smiling and saying,

"Very well then. Come, we still have most of the complex to clear out." I turned so that he could not see my smile widen, and my eyes moisten. If I had any doubt left, I knew now for a fact that sparing Spyro had been one of the best choices I had ever made.

**Spyro's POV**

It had been three weeks since the successful taking of Warfang. For my part in the battle I had been enlarged, so that the top of my head came to Cynders jaw. The wounds from the sneak attack had healed, and the marks from the lightning bolts would not scar. I was flying towards the second major operation since then. The first was an attack on a convoy of refugees from the surrounding lands one week ago. It was supposed to be an easy operation, and for the most part it was. My mind flashed back to the one hitch we encountered.

Cynder and I, along with a half dozen dragons we had captured at Warfang and turned to our side, had ambushed the convoy as it was traveling though a canyon. I and an earth dragoness had blocked off both ends of the canyon with rockslides. The other six turned to engage the dragons, as they were the greatest threats. Any archers were eliminated in the first pass, and there hadn't been many in the beginning. As I flew back to the main part of the battle, I noticed that we had taken them almost completely by surprise. The convoy had been composed mostly of those unwilling to fight, so we expected to take few prisoners. Guards and artisans were the exception. What resistance there was was easily subdued. Near the end of the fight, I chased a few thug types into a small cave. Cynder had started to follow me, just in time to see several boulders fall behind us, sealing me and the thugs in the cave. I could still hear what was going on outside, but it was muffled. However, I could hear enough to guess that Cynder and at least one other dragon were trying to dig though the boulders.

"That was a coward's tactic, but I suppose I should have expected as much from the likes of you." I snarled. The five dragons turned, but for some reason didn't attack. Just as I prepared to pounce, the leader of the dragons smirked, and a large object fell on me, knocking me to the ground and causing stars to explode in my eyes.

"I must say, it will be very enjoyable to torture you as the abomination you are, Spyro. Don't look so surprised. We knew you were going to attack us here, and so we a set a trap. You will be staying with us for _quite_ a while. Humph. The _Legendary Purple Dragon_? More like a lucky hatchling that's about to be shown its place in the world. And when we're done with you, we'll grab your boss, Cynder, and give her the same treatment" The leader, a male, spoke with a voice full of evil and sounding slightly psychotic. But I had stopped listening, instead concentrating on one thing only. How was I going to get out? The thing that pinned me to the ground, a large stone slab, was doing its job very there was no way some creeps were going to stop me from completing my mission and aiding Cynder. Not while I still drew breath. The five thugs were standing near an offshoot of the cave, which probably led to another way out. I didn't have much time to contemplate this though, as several dragons took advantage of my distraction to close the distance. Two dragons were holding my mouth shut to keep me from using my elements, while two others were attempting to tie me up. But I was having none of it. The leader was an ice dragon, and he was just sitting back while his minions did the dirty work. Just then, Cynder and the earth dragoness from before, Mica, burst though the boulders blocking the entrance.

"What's this, a master coming to protect her pet? Don't make me laugh." In the darkness of the cave he could not recognize just who he was speaking with. Mica barreled though the minions, and began to free me. Meanwhile the boss and one minion met Cynder's charge. Covering herself in shadow Cynder slammed into the minion. He began to scream, but some poison to the head stopped that. The boss tried to tackle her, though the twister she threw in his direction stopped him cold. Sadly she couldn't finish him then, as another accomplice spat an earth bomb at her. She ducked and retaliated with a burst of fear energy, rooting him to the spot. When she slashed his chest the dragon flinched, fell, and didn't move. The last two accomplices were being taken care of by me and Mica. I shot a fireball at the thug facing me. As he yowled I charged him slamming him into a wall. I heard a crack and the dragon fell to the ground, still. However the leader was still around. A sixth sense told me to sidestep, which I did, dodging a downward swipe from the ice dragon. His growl was cut short by my tail blade slicing into his side. It was by no means a lethal strike, but it wasn't supposed to be. He didn't flinch, I admit, not that it saved him. He attempted to spit an ice bomb at me, but I acted first, slamming a shoulder into him. He was knocked to the ground and I pinned him to the ground with a paw on the neck.

"Wh-wh-what are you?" he stuttered, still being unable to see me clearly. I blew a small fire ball, illuminating my face, and smiled. The smile didn't reach my eyes.

"You should have known better than to threaten my Mistress while I was still alive. A pity you'll never have a chance to put that lesson to use." I slowly began to sink my claws into his neck. It wasn't that I enjoyed causing pain most of the time, but in this case he had crossed a boundary. Unfortunately his punishment was interrupted.

"Spyro! Our mission here is done." Cynder called out to me. I snarled

"You got lucky." I told the dragon. He looked relieved, until I sunk my claws into his throat. I turned to follow the General out, leaving five corpses behind us. She glanced at me with a hint of worry in her face. It was at that point that I realized she had fought considerably fiercer than I had seen her fight before.

"For a moment I thought I had lost you. You are unharmed, right?"

"Thanks to your intervention, their plans were not completed." I did wonder though, why was she so eager to save me? It wasn't the first time either, as I recalled Gaul's assassination attempt. That's when it struck me; she cared for me just as I cared for her! I internally rejoiced, though I didn't know quite why. A spark seemed to ignite within my heart, a spark that was slowly starting to grow.

I yanked myself back to the present as I neared the objective. For this mission Cynder and I were alone. It was small, but compared to the patrols we had been going on since Warfang it was quite the improvement. We were to try and take a small orphanage, and capture the eggs inside. I was slightly annoyed, since the delay in getting to battle consisted mainly turning the captured dragons to our side. This operation would just add more dragons to the waiting list.

The orphanage was in a hilly region, thus preventing us from seeing it until we were right on top of it. Just as we arrived a pair of dragons disappeared over the hills opposite us. They were probably the caretakers, the cowards. At least they didn't seem to have taken any eggs.

"If I meet those two again, they won't live through it." Cynder growled. I agreed. I could understand fleeing when there was nothing to protect. After all, why sacrifice yourself for nothing? But they had been charged with caring for and protecting a large group of helpless eggs. The _least_ they could have done was to have taken a few eggs with them. Instead, they ran for their lives, completely forgetting their duty. If either Cynder or I met them again, we would kill them, no questions asked.

The orphanage was a rectangular building, with three stories, including the basement, and made of stone. There was a front door and a back door, with multiple dark windows giving a view inside the gray building. The windows were too small for even an adolescent dragon to fit though, however, so there was no need to watch them.

"You take the back door. Seal it behind you, and leave no spot unsearched. We have time on our hands." Cynder ordered me in a low voice. I grunted an affirmative, and landed silently at the rear of the building. The door opened without a sound, and I padded inside. The only illumination came from the windows. I shut the door behind me, before breathing a thick wall of ice over it. If anybody was still inside, I wasn't planning on letting them out. The first few rooms consisted of the kitchen, dining hall, and a few work rooms. Nothing important there. I found the stairs up, and moved to the second floor. It consisted solely of bedrooms and bathrooms. Interestingly, besides the caretaker's chambers, two single bed chambers appeared to have been used recently. Perhaps the young dragons were still here…

With little to be found on the second floor, I returned to the first floor. The stairs to the basement were in the next room over. The eggs had to be down here, as there had been no other place to store them that I had yet seen. I didn't know where Cynder was exactly, but it sounded like she was still exploring the ground floor. The stairs were considerably closer to my side than hers, and the second floor was smaller as well, so it made sense that I had beaten her here.

There had been little enough light upstairs, but the sole source of illumination in the basement was from the stairs I had come down from. I had learned that, normally, there were furnaces near the eggs to keep them warm. They appeared to be out. Nonetheless, the room I first entered was much warmer than upstairs, so the fires had been extinguished only recently. It was a storage room, with nothing of import, or so I first thought.

I caught a glint of light coming towards me, and jumped forwards, just in time to doge several icicles flying towards my torso. I retaliated with a short burst of fire that lit up the room. Although it missed my attacker, it did reveal his identity, which was enough to make me stop. A young ice dragon, no older than me, dove to avoid my fire. He was somewhat malnourished and badly bruised, with what appeared to be a broken wing. But I had not caused the injuries, rather, they appeared to have been sustained though beatings.

"I'll die before I let you touch these eggs, servant of the darkness!" He shouted at me, before shooting some more icicles at me. I ducked, and began to question him. Something seemed fishy about his injuries.

"Tell me, how were you injured?" I asked. Unsurprisingly, he didn't answer. A thump for upstairs told me that Cynder was probably going through the same thing I was. "You cannot stop me from getting to the eggs, but if you answer me, I may spare your life."

"Spare me, so I can live life as a slave, or become clouded by darkness like you? That's not going to happen." His voice was strong, but I could hear both pain and fear beneath it. "At least while I had to work here, I knew I could leave someday. I'm not about to surrender the eggs to a life of servitude!" His courage reminded me of myself, before Cynder had shown me the error of my ways.

A loud _thud _sounded from upstairs, followed by a scream. The scream was swiftly muffled, but not before I heard enough to recognize the speaker as a female, about the same age as the dragon I was facing.

"Taiga!" The dragon yelled. Then he turned back to me. "I'm not letting you hurt anyone here any-ack!" Taking advantage of his distraction, I had closed the distance and slammed him to the floor with a paw on his neck.

"Tell me who gave you those injuries, and I'll try to help your sister." I didn't know if this "Taiga" was his sister, but their voices were close enough that I hazarded a guess. He glared at me for a second, then dropped his eyes and spoke.

"The caretakers. They beat me and my sister whenever we didn't move fast enough to please them, or when we spoke against their treatment, and ever when they were bored and had nothing to do. They did it regardless of whether we did something wrong. When we heard you were coming, they fled, telling us to guard the eggs with our lives. They said they would return with reinforcements, but they probably lied. The same would happen to the eggs, if they aren't adopted, which will probably never happen now."

"Thank you. I will make sure your sister is unharmed to the best of my extent." Upon saying that I sent a surge of lightning energy into his body. Not enough to kill him, or even badly wound him. Just enough to knock him out. It appeared that the ones who were responsible for his safety had given him these injuries. If there had been any doubt in my mind about their fate before now, it was gone. I also had no doubt that the eggs would have a far better life under the Dark Master's rule then theirs. He had assured Cynder and me that they would be left alone, and would grow up naturally.

I turned when I heard Cynder coming down the stairs. The limp form of a female ice dragoness was draped across her back, obviously unconscious. She was the same size as the dragon I had incapacitated. One of the dragoness's, who I assumed to be Taiga, front legs appeared to be broken.

"I had hoped you had spared the one down here. His name, it seems, is Tundra." Cynder remarked, when she saw the dragon. "I assume he told you who injured him?"

"After some persuasion, yes. If I meet them, they will wish for a quick death. I plan on bringing this one back alive, and I respectfully ask if you might do the same. I promised this one I would try to help his sister." The General smiled at me.

"I was about to order the same thing, though I doubt Malefore will want to take the time to 'enlighten' them. Of course, I already have other plans for them. I have the same feelings as you do about these caretakers. They are worse than despicable. Now, I believe the eggs are in the next room. Shall we complete this mission?"

We returned to Concurrent skies with two young dragons, little more than hatchlings, in our paws and six eggs in our packs. Upon delivering the eggs, Cynder told me to take Tundra and follow her. We had been right when we assumed Malefore was uninterested in the ice dragons we had captured. Arriving at the dungeons Cynder convinced me to chain them up in a manner identical to when I arrived. I winced when I noticed the energy on the chains. I had forgiven Cynder for the pain she had inflicted on me, knowing it had been necessary, but I pitied the young dragons nonetheless.

"Alert us when they begin to stir, otherwise, leave them alone." Cynder told the Cheetah assigned to this part of the dungeon. Then she turned to me. "Follow me Spyro; I have a present for you." She smiled craftily.

Obligingly I returned to our hallway. "Wait here, I need to get something." Cynder said, before vanishing into her chambers. She returned with a curious object, wrapped in purple cloth. "I had the smiths make this for you; it is identical in purpose to mine. But I thought you might like these colors better. Go on, open it."

I removed the cloth, to reveal a collar and bracelet similar to Cynders. However, it was bronze, whereas hers was silver, and the inscription on the collar was purple.

"I had a suspicion that you may be needing it soon, am I right?"

It took me a moment to get my breath back. "It is beautiful General, thank you. Yes, I think it might just come in handy soon." She winked at me.

"Seeing as they could awake at any moment, we may want to head back down to the dungeons, don't you agree?" On that note we started our way back, both of us beaming.

_A/N: Sorry if that last bit seemed forced. If you have any advice on how to make it better, feel free to tell me. I planned on having this done yesterday, but catching a head cold threw that plan out the window. That, and the fact this is now the largest chapter by one thousand words, easy. The first two parts of this chapter basically consist of Spyro and Cynder indicating their affection to each other. It's not love, at least not yet, but it could be soon. The last part is a look at Cynder and Spyro's characters, as well as some plot development for Spyro. He has now come full circle, having gone from being a pet, to about to take control of one. On a related note, we also learn that hurting and/or threatening Spyro or Cynder when the other is nearby is a very bad idea. It also appears that exposure to Spyro has caused Cynder to gain some Morals. Review and give me some constructive criticism please! The compliments are very nice, but they don't really help me improve my writing. And until then,_

_Have a nice day._


	9. Chapter 9

_A/N: I will not object if someone wants to shot me. I deserve it, letting the story go this long. I planned on having this chapter up over the weekend. Alas, computer problems and Halloween conspired against me. I do have semi-good news though. There is only one more chapter after this. If enough people want me to though, I may consider adding on to this story. As soon as I post this chapter, I'm going to go back and edit a few of the previous ones. It isn't much, just correcting some spelling mistakes and rewriting passages here and there to make more sense. I know you've all been waiting for this chapter, so I'll get out of your way now. A shoutout to my sister who had a birthday since I last posted, and thanks for reading my story._

_**You are very welcome. I have stuff to say about this chapter, but I won't ruin it for the readers. You are welcome for that readers! Continue on dear brother, continue on.**_

_Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Legend of Spyro series. If I did, there'd be another game on the way, at the very least._

**A Dark Fate**

Spyro's POV

Now I knew why Cynder had so much trouble subjugating the dragons before. They have the very annoying habit of running away whenever we start to win. Of course, we were getting some things done. Since they didn't have wings all of the other races had already been defeated. The Dark Master was only waiting on us to capture the rest of the dragons and a period of magical potency to finalize his plan. In other words, all the prisoners we wanted and a time when he didn't need to kill himself to cast the spells he wanted.

I ceased my reflections as I approached Concurrent Skies. It would not at all be acceptable if I crashed when I landed, and seeing as how the storm was even worse than usual (which is saying something) and it was night this required most of my attention. I could see Cynder waiting just out of the rain. She didn't like the storms before as she put it, "my life took a turn for the better", and now she downright disliked them. So did I, for that matter. Unfortunately, she didn't know why it had started storming as soon as the fortress was completed, and since the Dark Master liked the weather for some odd reason, it wouldn't be going anywhere any time soon. Of course, that didn't mean we couldn't wish that it left.

"I assume you were successful in your mission General Cynder?" I asked as soon as I landed and got out the rain.

"Yes, and I will guess that you were successful as well. Otherwise you wouldn't be here." She replied. Cynder had developed a bit of a witty and sarcastic streak lately. I personally liked it. The Guardians, not quite as much.

"Generals, the Dark Master would like to speak with you." A slightly more intelligent Grublin delivered this message, and then left as if Gaul himself were chasing its tail. Considering what we thought of Grublins and Orcs, it probably had the right idea. Oh yes, I forgot to mention. I had received a promotion to general. Malefore said it was because I was such a good leader on the battlefield, but I had a sneaking suspicion that it was for the shock of seeing both Cynder and I at the same time in different places with huge armies under our commands. Either way, I wasn't complaining.

Since she was still my superior due to experience, I had to address her as "General Cynder" in public, including when around the Dark Master. In private, on the other hand, we referred to each other on a first name basis. For some reason, "Cynder" felt much nicer on the tongue and ear (in my opinion anyway) than "General Cynder". Everyone else, the Dark Master excluded of course, had to refer to us as "General".

We marched towards the throne room in perfect step. Our colors matched well, I was dark purple and gold, while Cynder was midnight black and crimson. Cynder was about a head higher than me and somewhat longer, but I was broader and had a longer wingspan. Nobody had ever considered trying to checking how much we weighed comparison to each other. Either way, we were a very imposing sight together, and everyone probably would have gotten out of our way even if we weren't in command. Two dragons in battle armor guarded the golden doors to the throne room. Inside, the apes that had remained loyal to Malefore during Gaul's rebellion stood by the columns, off to the side of the red carpet that led to where the Dark Master sat. Honestly, I wasn't sure why he needed all of this splendor, as no one ever come to him for diplomatic reasons. Then again, I'm sure showing off felt good, even if there weren't all that many people to show off to.

"How is the fight against the remaining dragons going?" Malefore asked us as soon as we reached him. He never was one for wasting time.

"Not well" I answered. "Although I can bring the warriors to battle easily, they fight only long enough for the noncombatants to get away. After that they pull out swiftly, and I don't have enough dragons under my command to risk a chase without Dreadwings supporting them. And since the Dreadwings are capable of equaling the speed of a full grown dragon for only a few minutes at most, my opponents can leave the battle whenever they want to." As I finished the frustration was evident in my voice. Malefore already knew that I personally could, and did, down multiple dragons in every battle, and the rest of my forces were no slouches either, but most of the wounded dragons were unable to be captured. We were forced to lower them to a safe altitude after being defeated to keep them alive, but then the majority of them were rescued before the slower moving ground forces caught up. And we didn't want to kill them, or any of the dragons in the half a dozen or so groups we were always chasing.

The merchants, politicians, loafers and other such dragons that we had no interest in had already been weeded out and killed. The dragons we wanted were the honorable warriors, the scholars, and of course, the young ones and eggs. This was exactly what these groups were made up of. I had asked before why we wanted to capture the warriors. After all, wouldn't it just be easier to kill them? Malefore laughed when I said this, and kindly explained. We were going to win, however long this took, and when we did Malefore would eliminate the corruption. That much I knew. But then he explained what might happen after that. He thought the corruption was a tool for a race from another realm, and when it was destroyed whoever planted it here would know, and they wouldn't like it. It would probably take a while before they made a move, but Malefore wanted to be ready when they did. We could always train an army, but this was a much faster method. Or at least, that's what he told me. I'm not sure that the corruption is a tool, or if we will need an army to fend off whoever corrupted the planet in the first place. But I digress.

"Surely you can force them into a trap, can't you?" Malefore inquired.

Cynder answered this one. "We've tried, but they have very good scouts, and stay in open areas whenever they can. When they can't, they move though the chokepoints faster than we can set up ambushes. We simply don't have the numbers to drive them in to a sufficiently strong trap, unless you let us pull away from some of the groups."

"You will chase all of them until I say you can stop. Still, you raise good points. I will give it some thought. Dismissed." We left the throne room disappointed, but unsurprised. We didn't know why the Dark Master insisted on having all four of the groups under pressure at the same time, but we couldn't do anything about it. Thus, we had stopped trying long ago.

It was a quick walk back to our chambers. As a general, I could have had a luxurious set of chambers built off in some far away fortress where I was the boss. But frankly, I decided to stay with Cynder. We worked well together, and cared greatly for each other. In fact, I have recently been forced to admit to myself that I may be falling in love with her. Of course, this led me to the question, is she? Since I was too scared to ask her, I was forced to settle for simply watching, waiting, and hoping. Not necessarily in that order.

I opened the door to my chambers and took a single step in. Then I just looked around. I always did this after I had been gone for a while. My bed was in the far corner. This was where it had been when I lived in the swamp, and I decided to keep it there for lack of a better place to put it. On the walls next to my bed were the trophy's I had gained in battle. It was an impressive collection, but no where the size of Cynder's. The remaining walls were taken up by a window, tapestries and a map of the realm, with important events of my life marked on it. A dark green rug covered the entire floor. Like Cynder, I had an armory and balcony leading from my sleeping chambers. And then the last, and most important, items in the room. The pillar and bed for Tundra. He wasn't here right now of course. I knew I would be gone for some time, and it probably goes without saying I wouldn't leave him alone. I have grown very fond of the young ice dragon over the three months I have had him as my pet. Cynder feels the same way about Taiga, I know. Whenever either of us are away for more than a day, we leave our pets in the care of whichever Guardian happens to be at Concurrent Skies at the time. In fact, Terrador should be here by-

"Generals! Welcome back!" Terrador's booming voice carried though the hallways to where our doors were. I turned around in time to see him round the corner, with Taiga and Tundra right behind him. Most of the dragons, cheetahs and other races here really didn't care about the two young dragons. The apes and the Dark Master both disliked them, though only the former showed it most of the time, whereas the Grublins and orcs, when they were here, downright bullied and harassed them. Then again, they hated almost all dragons. The Guardians, on the other hand, were almost as fond of the two as Cynder and I were. "How did your missions go?" Terrador asked. "I assume that your opponents gave you no difficulty. Were it not for the young ones they have to guard, I would call them cowards for running away so often."

Terrador may be a servant of the Dark Master first, but all of the Guardians still cared for young ones. Cynder began to discuss the matter with Terrador while I lowered my head to look at our pets. They were in an interesting dilemma when it came to their feelings for us, I had no doubt. On one hand they were the pets of two dragons dedicated to capturing the rest of their race, in the fortress of the most feared dragon in the realm. On the other hand, for the first time in their lives someone actually cared about them. Sometimes they were very happy to see us, other times they were obviously depressed about their lot in life. This time seemed to be one of the former. Tundra practically threw himself at me, and it only took a second to see why. Both he and Taiga had several cuts and bruises on them. I looked up at Terrador, a scowl on my face, when I saw several scabs on his side as well. Cynder noticed about the same time, as did the four guards on duty (two cheetahs, and two apes).

"Where did all of these scabs come from?" I asked.

Terrador grimaced, a disgusted face appearing. "I can safely say I hate Grublins and Orcs as much as you two do now. Two nights ago, at about two in the morning, a couple of Grublins and Orcs snuck in to my chambers while we were sleeping. I have no idea how this idea got into their thick skulls, but they decided it would be fun to begin beating and slicing us. They didn't live long, but they did give us these before they died. I made an official complaint to Malefore, but I doubt anything will happen. He loves the Grublins and Orcs, for some strange reason." Terrador was an action oriented dragon, thus he had little faith in any sort of official complaint. And his other point was also good. The Dark Master was very slow to take any action against the Grublins and Orcs, he obviously favored them. Cynder and I did not.

Tundra's contact with me caused the chain to reappear. This was due to a useful addition to the bracelets and collars we had added when we learned we would be gone for long periods of time. Touching a certain gem deactivated the chain, though it also caused the wearer of the collar to be unable to speak or use elements, regardless of whether they could normally. Physical contact with the wearer of the bracelet restored the chain, as well as lifting any restrictions that were normally lifted.

"I don't care what they do me, please, just protect my sister." Tundra whispered to me. I made eye contact with Cynder, and we both smiled. Taiga had just made the same request to her. This wasn't the first time they had been targeted by Grublins, and each time they asked us to protect the other one, not themselves. Although we had joked about it before, both Cynder and I had come to respect the love the two ice dragons had for each other. They would willingly give up their lives for one another, and would do whatever they could to aid each other when it was needed.

"I'm beginning to reconsider my decision to stay here. I must admit, having the Dark Master looking over my shoulder does not really make me comfortable, and I am sick of these Grublins and Orcs. They have been disobeying Malefore more and more recently. It's too dangerous for young ones to remain here." I remarked, after Cynder had waved the guards away.

Terrador nodded in agreement and Taiga and Tundra looked at me with undisguised relief. Then Cynder gave us a very pleasant surprise.

"I've actually entertained the thought of moving to a new fortress closer to the front for a longer time than you know. In fact, it should be completed in about a month. I figured you would want to join me Spyro, and I assume the Guardians will consider it? I hope I didn't surprise you too badly." Meanwhile, I'm staring at her shocked, Terrador is only a little better, and our pets have their mouths hanging open. I for one never expected her to initiate a move. In response to our shocked expressions, Cynder added "The Dark Master is a fine commander in moderation, but spending this much time around him gets on even my nerves."

Our discussion was cut short by the arrival of dinner. After we sent the servants who bought our food away, we invited Terrador into the planning room to eat. As we began using the planning room more and more, we had been adding various pieces of furniture. These days, we used the room for much more than just planning. We ate in there, relaxed in there and met with the Guardians in there, among other things. It was our all-purpose room. Normally Tundra and Taiga were partly interested, partly bored during Cynder and my conversations. Today, however, with the topic being when we would move out, they were very interested. The discussion carried on long into the night, to the point where the two ice dragons had actually fallen asleep and the three of us were yawning.

"I will ask the other Guardians if they also wish to move. I am certain Ignitus will come, especially if we can persuade the Dark Master to have the eggs and hatchlings kept there. Cyril and Volteer however, I'm not so sure about. Sadly, I must leave to join my forces this afternoon, and I need some sleep before I leave." With these words Terrador finished the conversation. As he tromped down the halls, I leaned in to Cynder, my eyes drooping. She smiled, though I barely noticed in my exhausted state.

"It will be nice, with just the two of us, don't you think?" She asked me. I nodded slowly. She continued, "Maybe we can keep all the storms here. You would appreciate that, wouldn't you?"

"Mm hm." I grunted, trying to keep from falling asleep right there.

"Come now, it's time you went to bed." She picked up Taiga, and then lightly kissed me on the cheek. The feeling brought my body back up to full alertness, but my mind was sent into more of a daze then before. I grabbed Tundra and followed her out. Upon going out all the way into the hallway, Cynder shivered. Without thinking I extended my wing over her. It took us both a moment to realize what I had just done and we both froze when we did. I began to apologize and remove my wing, but then Cynder caught me by surprise.

"That feels nice." She said leaning into me. "Would you be so kind as to leave your wing there?" I blushed, but nodded and began walking her down to her chamber. When we got there she shrugged a little and I lifted my wing. She opened the door to her room and began to enter, but stopped partway though. "Thank you Spyro." She said with a slight blush still on her face.

"You're welcome." I replied. She nodded and closed the door. I returned to my own chambers, deposited Tundra on his pillow, and collapsed onto my bed. The affects of the kiss were wearing off and I could feel sleep coming to claim me. But before it did, I had time for one thought. _Now I'm certain. I love Cynder._

One month later

Our new fortress was by the old temple, hence the similar design themes. The short amount of time the temple had been inhabited, about two months or so, had been nowhere near enough to renovate the place. Then, when the Guardians had been captured, it had begun to fall into disrepair again. Cynder's forces had finished the job, cannibalizing building material to build our own base of operations. Even with this source of readymade stone, it was only three quarters finished at this point. Nonetheless, everything important had been completed. With the Dark Master's approval, we had just finished moving in. And for some fortunate reason, the storms had stayed behind at Concurrent Skies. I felt relieved to finally open my eyes to something other than rain.

Terrador had called the reactions of the Guardians perfectly. Volteer and Cyril stayed behind at Concurrent Skies, albeit grudgingly. Terrador and Ignitus came with us. As for troops, we had brought many of the cheetahs and dragons that had been captured. A large amount of apes also joined us. Although I had disliked them at first, the arrival of the Grublins and Orcs had led me to view them in a more positive light. It probably helped that only the more intelligent ones were left. We also had a fair amount of slaves to get things done, though not quite as many as at Concurrent Skies. I found I still disliked the idea of slavery. And rounding out the party were almost all of the hatchlings and eggs that had been at Concurrent Skies. The lack of nearby combat, large amount of gems, and more than a few teachers, Terrador and Ignitus chief among them, made this an excellent place to raise young dragons. A pity it might not last long.

I was on a cliff near the temple, just relaxing and enjoying the view. When one spends all their time fighting, one can forget just how beautiful nature is. In the distance I could see the swamps where I grew up. In those swamps lived dragonflies. Our forces had captured more than a few of them and sent them off to Concurrent Skies. We didn't need them here, but the Dark Master might. One never knew.

Speaking of dragonflies, I spotted a yellow glow in the trees. Normally I wouldn't care much about the dragonfly, but I knew that yellow dragonflies were actually fairly rare. And I knew a certain yellow dragonfly very well… Sweeping down and catching the dragonfly by surprise wouldn't be too difficult. The trick would be actually grabbing it. They were very fast and maneuverable. I knew from that experience. Luckily for me, my job was made easier by the dragonfly watching for patrols below him and not dragons above. As I got closer, I identified the dragonfly as being young, not yet an adult. I wanted to talk to this dragonfly, and since I had the element of surprise, I decided to use it. I shot a small piece of super cooled water at the dragonfly, which I could now see to be male. This was a technique that Cyril had recently taught me. It didn't wound the target, but just after contact it would freeze solid, making it ideal for capturing prisoners. A pleasant side affect of "enlightening" Cyril was to stop him from always referring to his ancestors, though his ego wasn't much affected and both he and Volteer could still be chatterboxes when the time didn't call for silence. Ah well, you couldn't have everything.

The dragonfly turned just as I fired the water. He tried to doge, but missed escaping by just a scale. The ice pinned him to a nearby tree, conveniently about head level. However, by spotting me when he did, he prevented himself from being pinned face first against the tree. Instead he was facing me when I landed. I moved closer and as I came close, he looked up. I froze upon seeing his face, before flashing back to months prior.

_"Sparx, I need you to go and tell the Guardians what happens, either way."_

_ "Sorry bro, but I'm not going anywhere until you win."_

_ "Kick her butt Spyro."_

"Sparx?" I whispered, my eyes wide. My foster brother looked up and gasped.

"Spyro? What did they do to you?" He asked. In his wide eyes I could see relief, but it was quickly replaced by fear and sorrow. We just stared at each other for a second, and then he began to glance around. "Spyro," he whispered, "I know this isn't you! You could run, come with me. We could escape Malefore; go back to our parents and how it used to be." For one second, I almost considered it. But before even the loyalty spells kicked in, I thought of Cynder. Her image appeared in my mind and banished any and all thought of leaving from my head.

"I am afraid that's not going to happen, Sparx. But I have a question. What I am I going to do with you? I must admit, I haven't thought about it before. " I began to contemplate the problem, ignoring Sparx's protests. I admit, it was a dilemma. For the life of me, I could not come up with a good idea. Several minutes of thinking later, I noticed the shadow of a flying dragon moving through the woods. Glancing up, I recognized the shape as that of Ignitus.

"Ignitus! Come down here! I need your help with something." I shouted up at him. He promptly turned and came in for a landing.

"And what might this problem be, General Spyro?" I jerked my head at the trapped dragonfly.

"Oh great," Sparx shouted upon seeing him. "Now the confusing old guy has turned evil and my brother is his commander! What else could possibly happen!" I laughed at his consternation.

"Oh, how about the fact I am moving here with Cynder, and I love working with her?" Sparx simply fainted in reply. Alone, I would have admitted that I was in love with her, but since Ignitus was here I had to be quiet. The Guardian in question had remained quiet throughout this short exchange. But now he stepped forward with an idea.

"Spyro, would you consider-" Just then Cynder arrived as well. It was starting to get crowded in this clearing. "If you don't mind, I'll tell you later." He whispered.

"That's fine by me." I whispered back.

"Well now, what do we have here boys?" Cynder asked. She either didn't hear what we whispered, or didn't care. She moved in closer, inadvertently forcing Ignitus and me away from Sparx. "Oh, if it isn't that little bug that used to follow you around. What are you going to do with him?"

"Well actually, Ignitus had an idea. He was about to tell me before you landed." I informed her. "Considering the situation, why don't you tell us now?"

Ignitus nodded and began to outline his idea. Considering the time he had to come up with it, I thought it was pretty good. Cynder seemed to agree. We smiled and nodded together as he finished. This plan would work very well.

Cynder's POV

At long last our new fortress was completed. It certainly took long enough! Officially construction stopped just over a month after we moved in. In practice, it continued another two weeks to yesterday, adapting, refining, and improving the fortress. But now all of the workers were packing up and going to do whatever Malefore wanted them to do now. Whatever that was, I didn't know, or care honestly.

There was one major disadvantage to living out here. It was a little over a day and a half's flight from here to Concurrent Skies. Thus, any information Malefore wanted to send the four of us took a while to arrive, and vice versa. Of course, he knew we would most often be out on a mission, and we have couriers with the primary mission of getting messages to and from battle commands. In the seven weeks we had spent here, the four of us had all spent between three and four weeks away. And since construction was finished we would be spending even less time here than we did now. It would be more efficient to send messages to our battle commands.

For a few days, however, we were all taking a break from fighting to celebrate completing the fortress. Just because we were fighting a war doesn't mean we can't relax now and again! Spyro, Ignitus, Terrador, several officers, and I were planning on a feast tomorrow night. Tundra and Taiga would also be there, of course. They just weren't involved in the planning, for obvious reasons. After that would be a day to let the celebrations wear off. After that it would be back to the war for all of us. In the past three days, today included, we had all just relaxed and waited for anyone who wasn't here to begin with arrive. Everybody had different ideas on how to spend their time. To compromise, we spent much of the time trading stories, information about the war and just talking about whatever caught our fancy. It turns out that Spyro was a talented conversationalist, not to mention smart and able to get along well with most people.

We did more than just talk though. Ignitus and Terrador had a sparring match that we all watched. It lasted an hour and was declared a draw when both of them collapsed at the same time. It made for a good laugh after we woke them up. Hunter, one of the officers here, gave us a shooting demonstration. He was able to put an arrow into a target a quarter the size of my paw from one hundred paces away. Even I was impressed by that. Spyro, as it turned out, has a very good mind. He challenged anyone who wanted to try to a riddle match, and then beat everyone. I didn't give him much of a challenge, sadly. Then again, I _was_ raised by dumb ape warriors… Tundra and Taiga both gave him a run for his money, despite the somewhat different upbringing. I'm not quite sure what that says about them yet.

Right now I was up on the highest tower, in which Spyro, I and our pets slept, watching the sunset. It was actually very beautiful, watching as the colors reflected off of the Silver River and created a moving pattern. The trees weren't that ugly either, at this time of day.

"The view's one of the best things I remember from growing up around here. I used to climb large trees and cliffs near where I lived to watch the sunrise and sunset, trying to find the best view." Spyro startled me as he walked up behind me and spoke, though I showed no sign off it. I was the master of stealth, but he could be quiet when he wanted to be. And admittedly, I had been distracted by the view. When I get back to combat, I'm going to have to work hard to make sure I don't pick up any bad habits. Still, until then…

"I have seen worse sights." I conceded. "Gaul's face chief among them." We both laughed. I turned to look at him. He was nervous, shuffling around and looking at his feet. I could just see the beginnings of a blush on his cheeks.

"I'm not sure how I'm supposed to say this Cynder. Umm…" He looked around for a minute, before finally taking a deep breath and continuing. "Cynder, I love you."

For a second he looked at me hopefully, while my eyes widened. I knew he had feelings for me, and that I had long had feelings for him, but I was surprised they had progressed so swiftly. I had become sure a while ago that I was in love with him, but I had been very careful to try and keep him from knowing. It appeared I succeeded.

After I didn't respond for almost a minute, his face fell. "I knew I was wrong in hoping you loved me. I'm sorry; I just hope you'll forgive me, General." He began to turn around, his head and body drooping, his tail dragging along the ground. I didn't know where he was going, but I had a bad feeling about it. Luckily, I wouldn't have to find out.

"Spyro." He grunted softly, but didn't turn around. "I didn't say you could leave." He began to turn back to me, just in time to catch my kiss with his muzzle. We broke apart after a second. "You never let me say, I love you too." He was stunned beyond more than I had even seen him before. And believe me, I've seen him shocked and stunned a lot, and not physically (though I've seen that happen to him a lot, too). I smiled at him and he slowly began to smile back.

"I've been waiting to say that for a long time. And I must say, you picked an excellent location." We kissed again and this time it didn't end after a second. For some reason, my mind flashed to _good thing Sparx isn't here_ for a moment, before returning to the present. We smiled at each and turned to watch the sunset, our tails intertwining.

"It really is beautiful tonight, isn't it?" I asked Spyro.

He smiled. "Not as beautiful as you are." I laughed. As I did, I noticed a small change within me. Not physical, but almost like a spell had been broken. A small frown momentarily creased Spyro's face, and I suspected that he felt the same thing. My intuition was good like that. Then he shrugged and started smiling again.

"The Dark Master might not be happy about this." He warned, though his facial expression showed he didn't really care. Surprisingly, I didn't either.

"Well that's just too bad for him, because I'm in love with the purple dragon next to me, and I don't plan on anything changing that."

"Neither do I Cynder, neither do I." We kissed again, just as the last of the sun disappeared over the horizon. This dark fate I once believed had fallen on me suddenly didn't seem so dark.

_A/N: Again sorry about the wait. If you noticed that Spyro and Cynder almost seem like their uncorrupted selves, then good job. That's what I'm aiming for. I will admit now that this story will have an ending that will probably differ among the readers. I think of it as slightly bittersweet, but mostly happy. I will tell you now, to reassure anyone I just scared, that Cynder and Spyro will survive. So will Tundra and Taiga. I will admit, they intrigue me a lot. If I come back to this story soon after I finish, it will most likely be for an oneshot showing how they live though this period. I plan to get working on the next chapter tomorrow, but since I'll be a little busy for this and the next week, I don't know when the last chapter will be up. A big thank you to everyone who reviewed and left me advice. Please do so again, and until then,_

_Have a nice day._


	10. Chapter 10

_A/N: Yes, I'm back. I caught a bad case of life. Symptoms included, but were not limited to, band concerts, swim practice, swim meets, computer problems, school projects, conflict over control of computer, video games, Christmas presents, writer's block, and I figure it's worth saying again, lots of swim team. I SEVERELY overestimated the amount of free time I would have between swim team and a couple of advanced classes. In the free time I did have, I was either sick of Microsoft word or I was exhausted and trying to veg (which, for some odd reason, involves playing lots of Halo). But you aren't here for my personal life. This chapter will be shorter than the last two. The best ideas I had just weren't all that long. Terribly sorry about that. Now with that all out of the way on with the story!_

_**Hmm… A bad case of life you say? I might have to use that in my own excuses… Now then, this is SoldierofKnowledge's sister speaking, and I would like to say that I edited/corrected my dear brother's final chapter. Yes, it is the final, I know, sad day. Anyways! I will let him actually write :D**_

_Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Legend of Spyro series. My schedule is quite crowded enough already, I don't need running a famous game series added in there!_

**A Dark Fate**

Cynder's POV

It had been over a year since I had been in the realm of Convexity. And it looked just as creepy this time as it did last time. On this visit however, I was not being chased by a tenacious purple dragon. Rather, said purple dragon was standing next to me, leaning on me as I was on him. Both of us were almost asleep on our paws, having been awake and running around for more than forty eight hours. The Dark Master was finally putting the last stage of his plan into action. His, and by extension our, forces, were traveling into Convexity to avoid being killed when Malefore destroyed the planet.

The dragons that we had been chasing up until recently had been defeated by a surprisingly simple tactic. Ignitus had come up with it, and Spyro, Terrador and I were still beating our heads over not noticing it. We had backed off the scouts and stopped attacking two groups of dragons who were near to each other. After noticing this, the two groups had met to discuss a way to escape our troops and create a new base of operations. Unfortunately for them, while they were discussing strategy we were surrounding them. When we attacked, they had no place to go. Not one escaped being captured. We did the same thing with the next two groups, and it worked just as well. When it came to the fifth and final group, we had enough troops freed up to surround them several times over, whether they knew we were coming or not. They didn't stand a chance.

After that things moved fairly quickly. Spyro, the Guardians, and I all began gathering up our troops while Malefore waited until the Double Eclipse, in which one moon eclipses the planet, and the planet eclipses the other. This event was almost as magically charged as the Eternal Night. In the mean time he had been sending prisoners, and beginning recently, our troops, into Convexity to wait out the storm. All were placed in a magically induced coma in order to simplify logistics. I didn't want to imagine feeding everybody for the time they were in Convexity, anywhere from one to three years. Malefore himself will be asleep for a year to wait for the planet to reform. He had assured us that nothing would happen to those asleep, but I wasn't as confident. None the less I had no choice, and since Spyro wasn't as perturbed, I supposed that there was nothing to really worry about; not that my mind stopped trying.

Aside from Malefore himself, only Spyro, the Guardians and I were still conscious. Tundra and Taiga had been put to sleep the same time Spyro and I had started our forty-eight hour plus runabout. And now we, excluding the Dark Master of course, were about to join our troops in sleep. We would only be out a little longer than Malefore. Oddly he had not mentioned what we would do when we woke up. Then again, that may be because he wasn't sure himself. It wouldn't be as if there were many people left to fight after all. Of course, that did mean I would have plenty of time to settle down with Spyro.

As we watched, a portal opened and Malefore stepped through it.

"It is done. The destroyer has been awakened. You may fall asleep whenever you like, the spell will take place as soon as you do. I will wake you when the planet has been reformed and is ready for repopulation."

Spyro and I nodded, too tired to speak. We moved over to where Tundra and Taiga lay. We had previously placed a large amount of cushions here so we didn't have to sleep on cold stone for a year or more. I was ready to lay straight down and go to sleep, but Spyro went over to our pets first. Gently lifting up their heads he removed their collars as I looked on curiously. Noticing my look, he explained.

"I would imagine that you would develop quite a neck crimp if you went to sleep for a year and a half while wearing these. Besides, we do have some plans for them when we wake."

I nodded smiling. Spyro always thought of others before himself, one of the reasons I loved. I tapped the pile of pillows next to me.

"Thank you for reminding me. Now come over here and sleep; you look about ready to fall asleep on your feet."

He did so and fell asleep almost immediately I waited just long enough to place my neck over his before I sighed and closed my eyes. Sleep embraced me almost instantly, and did not release its grasp for many, many months.

One and a half years later

Oh boy, the irony. Concurrent Skies had been designed by me to resist any attack, and Malefore had only made it stronger. Meanwhile, my new fortress was designed more with comfort in mind, since I didn't expect it to last a year before it was destroyed along with the planet. Guess which one made through mostly intact and which one was mostly leveled. I'll give you a hint. The Dark Master was not a happy dragon.

Of course, just because my fortress remained intact didn't mean it was in the same place. It was now in the foot hills of a mountain range, near a temperate forest, as opposed to in the middle of a swamp. I still thought the view was just as good, but I hadn't had time to ask Spyro. Then again, we had been awake for a little more than a full day at this point. We weren't actually doing much really, just cleaning up the fortress. One thing I had talked to Spyro about was a name for our fortress. Due to the mountains that it now lay near, we decided to call it "Granite Peak". You can decide whether you like it or not; everyone we've asked responded favorably (or they're just afraid of what would happen if they said no, which is entirely reasonable).

I was in fact looking for Spyro right now. We needed to wake up Tundra and Taiga. I found the purple dragon using his earth element to clear some of the mess that had been created while the planet was destroyed and reformed. Just because it escaped _mostly_ intact didn't mean walls or ceiling collapsed here and there. Spyro heard me as I entered the room and turned.

"What is it; I thought you were taking a break." Spyro asked me.

"I am. And right now I want to go wake up Tundra and Taiga. I know you wanted to be there as well. But if you're busy, I suppose it can wait." I replied.

"Busy? Oh, you mean this. I'll have it cleared in thirty seconds."

"I'll time you. Just to make sure." He rolled his eyes when I said this and turned back to the rubble. Whenever he said something like that I always took it literally, despite him not intending for it to be taken literally. By now he was used to it. As he continued shifting the debris into a semi-ordered pile I began to count in my head. To my surprise, he did in fact finish up within thirty seconds.

"Well then, with that done you lead the way Cynder. After all, ladies first."

We walked down the tower we had been in and out into the main courtyard. Malefore had placed several portals to Convexity in places that we wanted to develop quickly. One of them was in the courtyard. We passed though it and into the reality which had been our home for the past one and a half years, though we had slept though almost all of it. After all the bustle of Granite Peak it was eerily quiet in Convexity. We could see a few figures in the distance, but not many. And no one was around us at all. As Spyro looked around I walked straight over to the cushions that Taiga and Tundra were sleeping upon. They had grown while we had all been asleep, though not as much as they would have normally. I wasn't sure how this happened, but I was inclined to blame magic. I looked over at the collars that lay upon the cushions next to them. Then, as Spyro arrived, I began to gently nudge Taiga awake.

"Ummm. How long has it been?" She asked me as she came to.

"Only about eighteen months, Spyro and I haven't been awake for more than a day ourselves." As I said this she yawned and began to stretch.

"Then what's the rush? Lots of time to get things ready. And for us to sleep some more." Interrupted Tundra, still with his eyes closed. Spyro was having a little difficulty at waking him up. Tundra, you see, was fond of sleeping in. Of course, he was also found of staying awake until very late; Spyro joked more than once that he was nocturnal.

"You've been asleep for eighteen months; I feel that is quite enough. And besides, you need to get out and practice, unless you want to get fat." Spyro's gentle taunting had long proved to be the easiest way of getting Tundra out of bed.

"Now that my lazy brother is awake, can we go? I'm suddenly really hungry." Taiga interjected, causing me to chuckle. Taiga always was good at getting right to her point. After waking up, everyone found themselves ravenous. Even a day later Spyro and I were snacking whenever we could.

As he rose, Tundra caught sight of the collars lying on the cushions next to him. "What are tho-"he started to ask Spyro, before cutting himself off. "Those are our collars, aren't they?"

"They were." Spyro replied nonchalantly. But then he became more serious. "But a little bit before we all started our long nap, I found myself somewhat uncomfortable with the idea of keeping you two as pets. It just didn't feel… right. And I know Cynder agrees with me." He almost looked a little ashamed as he said this.

"And besides," I added, "you two deserve more than that. And anyway, we care much more for you than we would for any pets."

Taiga looked confused. "But then, where will we go, what will we do now?"

I chuckled. Spyro and I had discussed all this in length before the world was destroyed and remade. "I hope you didn't think we were going to just cast you off. You'll be staying with us of course, as our protégés."

They both perked up at the news, but before they could say anything Spyro changed the topic. "Now that we've cleared up that matter, shall we all find something to eat?" This suggestion was greeted quite warmly. I'm getting the impression that this new era will start off excellently.

**Six Years Later**

Spyro's POV

Life is good. I don't know how else to describe it. It had been five years since Malefore had destroyed and reformed the planet and almost six since I had entered his service. It had been three since Cynder and I had officially become mates. I thought back to the time of my life when I was but fourteen years old and knee-high to my current self. I was naïve back then, and mistaken in many things. But I had truly believed in what I was fighting for at the time, so I cannot fault myself. I am looking down from a ledge in the mountains at my home for the past five years. In light of dawn I'm surprised by how peaceful it looks, even for a fortress that is more school than defensive installation.

Out of the corner of my eye I notice a glowing speck. As it approaches I recognize Sparx. He has served as a courier every since he was captured, initially within Granite Hills, and then he started to run the route between here and Concurrent Skies. This was, of course, after we had put the plan Ignitus had given me into action. I'm almost a little embarrassed by that now, honestly. We stuck Sparx in a lantern so he could see and hear us, but we couldn't hear him. Then we hung the lantern up in the hallway that connected my and Cynder's chambers. It was amusing then, but now I think it was slightly cruel. We were kind enough to erase that memory when we exposed him to Convexity. It turns out that Convexity effects all creatures the same, you see. We already suspected that, but it was interesting to know for sure.

"Spyro, Cynder wants to see you, something about showing a few students some fancy earth moves." Relayed Sparx. I nodded and he flew off again, to where I don't know. I launched myself from the cliff and into space, letting myself fall for almost two seconds before opening my wings. As I landed in the main courtyard I remembered the changes we had made. The scholarly part of the fortress had been expanded, including the infirmary. The Guardians, Cynder and I all believed in the school of hard knocks. It turns out that the students in question were my students for most of the day, so they were kept occupied. I wouldn't say it was boring, far from it. Rather, it was normal. Events of note happen rarely in my life these days, but each day is unique and different from the one before. And that is how I've found I like it.

I finished up the lesson for the day and retired to the tower where Cynder and I, our family and Tundra and Taiga live. Yes, I forgot mention that earlier. I'm a father to a young boy and girl. They hatched about two years ago, and brought much joy into our lives. I know that's cliché, but it's also the truth. Tundra and Taiga were our protégés, learning and aiding us. I really don't know how to describe it. They are a part of Cynder and my family, but not a part that's in most families. Tundra had just gotten back from a search and rescue mission. These days situations calling for force were few and far between, which I wasn't complaining about. It meant there was more time for me to spend with my family and teaching students. On the way back he had stopped in at Concurrent Skies (It was still raining a lot there, but not quite as much as before, in case you were wondering). He had a message for me.

"Spyro, Malefore wants you and Cynder to report to him as soon as you can. Not sure why, though." I shrugged.

"Do Cynder and the hatchlings know?" I asked. He nodded. "We'll leave in the morning then. No need to fly though the night. Is there anything you need?"

He responded negatively, and I continued on to my chambers. This was where we had made perhaps the biggest changes. Cynder and I shared a room. We were mates after all. We also had a combined armory. In the spare space there was a family room and the kid's bedroom. Dinner was, as always, the highlight of my day. Smiling at my mate we watched our children try to eat. They try, they really do. But seeing as how they were still toddlers they need practice. A lot of practice at that. We helped them eat their dinner, before putting them to bed and sitting down to our own. We exchanged stories, discussed ideas and talked about plans, such as the orders that had come from Malefore.

"What do think he wants us for?" I asked. Cynder shrugged.

"Well, we'll never find out sitting here talking about it. You can bet that it's important though, or he wouldn't have disturbed us. The Guardians are here so we don't need to worry about the children."

"Any more than usual anyway." I snorted. But it was true. To our children the Guardians were grandfathers, while Tundra and Taiga were an uncle and aunt, respectively. They valued the children's lives above their own. I snorted, but knew I would never consider Cynder and I leaving at the same time if they weren't here.

"Anyway, if we want to get to Concurrent Skies as soon as we can we should probably get some sleep. It's a bit of a flight." Cynder nodded in agreement. We cleaned up and headed to our bedroom. As I lay down next to Cynder I thought once again about my life. More than once I had dreamed about what might have happened if I had defeated Cynder all those years ago in Convexity. The dreams ended various ways, but often if we both survived Cynder and I still hooked up. I also thought about what actually happened after I had been defeated. Tonight as I laid my head down to sleep, I remembered when I had been exposed to Convexity. As I had entered that room in the Mountain of Malefore I worried about what awaited me. As it turned out, I needn't have worried at all. Through those doors no dark fate awaited me.

**The End**

_A/N: So, ya, this story is finished. Or at least the main plot is. I'm certainly going to go back and look over what I've written before so that I can fix mistakes I keep finding. I cringe whenever I look over the first half of this story. Now I know I'm biased, but I feel that my writing has improved considerably since I started this story way back last summer. Sorry it took so long to finish. The next story I write will probably be a Spyro/Temeraire crossover, but if you guys really don't like that idea I'll come up with a new one. Either way, it'll be a while before I start writing my next story. I need to figure out where the plan will go and I also need to get back into the habit of writing. Luckily midwinter break started today so I'll have lots of time to think. I want to thank all you guys for sticking with me though the story. Your reviews and messages really helped me out. If you have any questions PM me. I'll admit that I don't tend to respond to reviews very often, but I always respond to PMs at least once. So if you have a question shoot me a message and I'll get back to you ASAP._

_P.S. I've been getting a few reviews wondering what Temeraire is. It's a series of alternate history novels by Naomi Novik. The series takes place during the Napoleonic wars, with the major change in the timeline being that dragons exist. That's right, it's the Napoleonic wars with dragons. The books read somewhat like the Horatio Hornblower series if you ever read that. There are six books in the series now with the seventh coming out on March 6th. They're good books to read if you have the time._

_For the last time in this story,_

_Thank you and have a nice day._


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